Category: Blog

Marginality and Mattering: A Framework for Diverse Alumni Engagement

Gia GallimoreM.Ed., Director of Diverse Alumni EngagementWisconsin Alumni Association (WAA)University of Wisconsin, Madison Upon entering the alumni relations profession, like so many, I entered with years of student affairs experience, which provided me an understanding of how to develop meaningful relationships with those who would one day become alumni. Having the opportunity to explore and implement student programming grounded in theoretical framework helped me realize the strong connection to alumni relations and engagement work. While it may seem unorthodox to some alumni relations professionals, student affairs theories are simply human development studies that provide a framework and common understanding for varying ways to support students as they matriculate through institutions. So, why not explore how to apply student affairs theoretical frameworks to enhance alumni relations and engagement among your constituents? The Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) diversity initiatives are developed to engage alumni with the alumni association through program/event participation, volunteering, and philanthropic giving. The strategies implemented since joining the team in 2017 have focused on providing intentional and inclusive engagement opportunities using Nancy Schlossberg (1989) Marginality and Mattering Theory. The Marginality and Mattering Theory examines the importance of providing ways for students to understand they are supported and valued by […]

Retention through Onboarding: How Hiring Managers Can Foster a Sense of Belonging

Sydney AndringaExecutive Assistant to the Vice President of Institutional Advancement, College of Saint Benedict Valerie JonesExecutive Director of Alumnae Relations, College of Saint Benedict Heather Pieper-OlsonAssociate Vice President of Institutional Advancement, College of Saint Benedict Julie ReitmeierExecutive Director of Advancement Systems, College of Saint Benedict In January of 2014, the Institutional Advancement Team at the College of Saint Benedict, a Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts college for women in central Minnesota, faced a unique and complex set of circumstances. A brand new, first time, president was six months into her tenure; the vice president of institutional advancement (IA) had resigned and announced plans for a pair of interim vice presidents to lead the department; the college had just announced a $100 million comprehensive campaign; and the IA department had recently hired or was in the process of hiring four new staff members on a 24-person team. The president gave us, the senior leadership team in IA, a directive: create stability for the department and focus on retention of the current team. To create that stability and retain our workforce, we focused on creating a sense of belonging for all current and future staff members by creating an extended onboarding process. Not only would the […]

Discovering and Acting on Your Students’ Post-Pandemic Online Preferences

by Rebel Smith, A. Graham Peace

We oversee an undergraduate program consisting of approximately 2700 students in a typical college of business at a large, public land-grant institution. Being a business school, we constantly look for ways to adapt to the changing environment and to find opportunities to make our operations more efficient and effective. Applying these basic business principles to academia is becoming more necessary in an environment of declining student populations and increasing costs. The Covid-19 pandemic caused a major disruption in the way academia operates, and such disruptions often lead to fundamental changes in the environment in which an organization exists. Those that adapt quickly have an opportunity to take advantage of these changes, but those that assume things will “return to normal” are often left behind. You don’t want to be the shop renting videotapes in the era of the internet, and you don’t want to be the school focusing primarily on classes held in brick-and-mortar facilities when many of your students have spent a year taking courses online. We were certain that the disruptions caused by the pandemic, especially a year of almost fully online instruction, would lead to changes in the educational desires of our student population, and that identifying […]

Adopting a Peer Supervision Model to Enhance Student Support

Christie Maier, M.Ed., Associate Director, Transformative LearningUniversity of Kentucky Doing more with less It’s a message many in higher education have received before: “do more, with less.” Whether it’s a need to expand services with no additional funding or an impending budget cut, student support units often must be creative with their program models to meet student demand with limited resources. This was the case for the learning center at the University of Kentucky back in the late 2000s when the drop-in Peer Tutoring Program expanded to support all 100 level math courses, as well as many 100 & 200 level science and business courses. The resulting demand required professional staff to develop a student leadership position to provide supervision and administrative support for the Peer Tutoring Program. Student Program Coordinators (SPC) are undergraduate students who have worked for the learning center in some capacity, often as a peer tutor or front desk staff, for at least a year. These emerging leaders have demonstrated their ability to successfully balance their time, communicate effectively, as well as work on a team and are ready to take on additional responsibilities. SPCs work 20 hours per week and have three primary responsibilities: on-duty […]

How Rush University Established a Mentoring Program for Women Faculty that Can Serve as a Model for Other Universities

Susan Chubinskaya, PhDVice Provost for Faculty Affairs, Klaus Kuettner Professor for Osteoarthritis Research, Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Orthopedic Surgery, and Internal Medicine at Rush University Amarjit S. Virdi, PhDDirector of the Office of Rush Mentoring Programs, Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at Rush University The Challenge As a private, nonprofit healthcare institution offering certificate, undergraduate (very few), graduate degrees, and postgraduate training, Rush University (RU), an academic arm of Rush University Medical Center and Rush System for Health in Chicago, has almost 2000 faculty, and 52% are women. Since July 2006, we’ve been invested in developing systemic mentoring programs for our faculty, beginning with the Rush Research Mentoring Program (RRMP), which helps early career faculty develop and lead independent, extramurally funded translational research programs. Building on the framework of the RRMP, we’ve subsequently developed other mentoring programs, such as Rush Educational Mentoring Program (REMP), mentoring program for postdoctoral fellows through Rush Postdoctoral Society (RPDS), and, recently, our Rush Women Faculty Mentoring Program (RWMP). All these programs provide tremendous resources to faculty, offer continued education credits, and are optional, though participation in these programs is highly encouraged. Gender equity and diversity is one of […]

Do not waste your faculty’s time: How deans can help transform end-of-semester feedback into lasting, meaningful action

by Paaige K. Turner

“Will my students read these suggestions?” “Will they learn from and apply my feedback?” When I was a faculty member, the above questions nagged me and other colleagues as we spent hours grading final papers and projects. I carefully crafted feedback to identify strengths and offer suggestions, even linking to course readings and resources. I hoped students would reflect on my comments to replicate the positive or modify their behavior. But at the end of each semester, I watched the pile of graded work sit in a box. At first, it was a cardboard box outside my office. Today it has become a virtual box in a learning management system. Students saw the end of the semester as the end of their learning, and I began to wonder whether grading final projects was worth my time. Do your faculty feel the same about their administration? Are you letting faculty innovations “sit in a box?” This year, faculty implemented unprecedented innovations as they pivoted to deliver online or hybrid educational experiences while adjusting to dynamic CDC guidelines as well as mounting mental and physical health challenges. They rewrote syllabi, modified assignments, and built and rebuilt online modules. At the end of […]

Onboarding Isn’t what it Used to Be: Lessons from a Hiring Manager and New Staff Member at the University of California, San Diego

Michael Bumbry, Ph.D., Senior Director of Alumni Outreach and Engagement, UC San DiegoJennie Van Meter, Senior Director of Alumni Engagement Strategy, UC San Diego Like many industries, higher education too has had to reimagine work in light of the global pandemic. Our decisions will have a lasting impact on the way business is conducted. At the University of California at San Diego (UC San Diego), the department of alumni engagement hired and onboard professional staff during the early stages of the pandemic. One of us (Bumbry) started his employment remotely at UC San Diego in August 2020, while the other (Van Meter) is an alumna and long-time engagement officer at the institution who recruited, hired, and trained new staff remotely during the pandemic. Although the implications of COVID-19 and future of work are still uncertain, we would like offer our experiences, insights, and recommendations on recruiting, hiring, and onboarding new staff members during the pandemic and beyond, from both the candidate and recruiter perspective.Michael Bumbry: A whole new world: Applying for a job during a pandemic In mid-March 2020, the majority of institutions notified faculty and staff that they would be working remotely for an unknown amount of time due […]

How One Institution Launched a DEI Plan Without a DEI Office

Co-Written by:Kinsley McNulty, Program Coordinator of Student Life, New York Institute of TechnologyDiandra Macias, Program Coordinator of Student Life, New York Institute of TechnologySamantha Mon, Assistant Director of Career Services, New York Institute of TechnologyPaul Ferrante, Assistant Director of Student Life, New York Institute of Technology This past year, the global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement shed a bright light on continued inequities while spurring expectations of social justice and activism that define Gen Z. Young people are demanding accountability by police, government, corporate leaders, and educational institutions, including higher education. In 2018, New York Institute of Technology developed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force of staff, faculty, and students to assess and make recommendations to institutional policies, resources, and structures. In many ways, New York Tech is still new to ingraining the nuances into practice and our diverse community. Meanwhile, students voiced their experiences throughout the pandemic, showing a greater need for the student affairs division (Student Life, Career Services, Counseling and Wellness, Experiential Education) to prioritize DEI-centered programming and advocacy. We know our need is not insular— colleges across the country feel the need for DEI now. However, without a formal DEI office on […]

Ghostwriting for the President: 3 Techniques to Capture Their Voice

by Ryan DeBoef

“Let us never underestimate the power of a well-written letter.”– Jane Austen, Persuasion A decade ago, when I was getting started in the legal department at Missouri State University, one of our campuses became embroiled in a turf dispute with another educational institution. Stakeholders from both institutions met to explore collaborative options. The stakeholder meeting was wholly unsuccessful. In a last attempt to avoid an inevitable clash, our general counsel asked me to draft a message from our president to the other institution’s president (along with staff at the state department of higher education) advising them to stand down. Before drafting the letter, I met with the president and the other stakeholders who had attended the meeting. From their perspective, the offers made at the meeting were comically unreasonable. We felt disrespected and grossly undervalued. Based on those conversations, I decided the letter should be professional, but aggressive and decisive. I also decided the letter should be short and concise to convey our strength and confidence. I drafted a scathing letter, designed to evoke a negative reaction. The letter: No apologies. No sugarcoating. No counteroffer. No offers to meet again. I nervously delivered the letter to my president. He read […]

Professional Development as a tool for Succession Planning: The story of Colorado School of Mines Foundation

by Steven Kreidler

Also Contributing Editors:Rusty Brunner, Human Resources Manager, Colorado School of Mines Foundation Succession planning and robust professional development programs are not often associated with advancement shops in higher education. Some feel that with the high employee turnover rate in advancement, they cannot justify the financial investment. However, an alternative perspective is that professional development leads to increased employee performance and retention, making it a sound investment. At the Colorado School of Mines Foundation (CSMF), leadership values staff development and has implemented a scaffolded skills-based development plan. Supporting employees and creating long-term succession planning has been integrated into their culture. This fundamental belief in how leadership views employment has played a big part in creating a higher-than-average retention rate. During an interview with Rusty Brunner, Human Resources Manager and Steve Kreidler, Vice President of Administration/CFO from the Colorado School of Mines Foundation (CSMF), I learned about their vision and approach. A growth focused and skills-based model The professional development and succession plan, in its current form, began two years ago at the CSMF. It is more than a commitment to provide employees with an annual webcast or two; it is a fundamentally different way of approaching employment. It is a growth […]