Course Category: Free for All-Inclusive Members

Developing and Supporting Identity-Based Alumni Affinity Groups

As student demographics in higher education continue to shift, and as institutions continue to develop new initiatives focused on equity, inclusion, and belonging, it is more important than ever to build a pathway for diverse students to become engaged alumni. Identity-based alumni affinity groups can foster ties between prospective and current students and alumni, strengthen a diverse volunteer pipeline, and increase giving. They can also offer alumni a continued or newfound sense of belonging as well as opportunities for advocacy.   Join us for this virtual training to learn how to develop and support identity-based alumni affinity groups. We will share examples, strategies, and reflection points for starting and sustaining these groups. In this virtual conference, you will consider: Historical legacies of the inclusion/exclusion of diverse students and alumni in higher education and at your own institution. What is communicated by a group name, and how to choose names that best serve your alumni. How to use a phased approach to establish identity-based alumni affinity groups. Ways to support group missions through communication, events, and other engagement.

Maximize Your Public Speaking by Overcoming Your Discomfort

Communication is a critical skill for leaders. And as challenges facing higher education today grow more complex and communication methods more diverse, the need to feel confident in your ability to speak publicly is more essential than ever.   Join us for a virtual training uniquely designed to help you understand, and move through, your discomfort with public speaking by exploring these topics in depth:   Want to Take Your Learning Further? Interested in learning more and applying the learning from this training? Register for the Public Speaking Bootcamp: A Hands-On Approach to Developing and Delivering Effective Communication. You will learn how to prepare, practice, and perform a speech and also identify what to do if things do not go as planned. Intentionally Designed Online Learning Our virtual trainings go far beyond just replicating PowerPoint presentations online: these experiences are intentionally designed to give you the kind of robust and dynamic learning experience you’ve come to expect from Academic Impressions. These trainings provide you with an active learning environment and an online space where you can explore ideas, get inspired by what your peers are doing, and understand the range of possibilities around a certain topic. You will leave these sessions with […]

Celebrating Success as First-Generation Faculty: A Time for Discussion

Navigating faculty life and culture can be challenging for anyone, regardless of their background. To be successful, faculty need to understand the subculture of higher education, know how to network and navigate politics on campus and in their discipline, and be able to advocate for themselves and set boundaries effectively. But for first-generation faculty members, there can be additional barriers in confronting the hidden curriculum and trying to successfully manage research, teaching, and service. Not to mention the fact that first-gen faculty members are often best suited to support first-gen students in their journey through college, which can add unofficial service time to their calendars. Join us for a one-hour facilitated discussion about thriving as a first-gen faculty member. You will have the opportunity to: Hear from our speakers about their journey through college, graduate school, and faculty life. Discuss ways to celebrate successes, support students, and maintain the boundaries needed to be successful as faculty. Network with other first-gen faculty members from different institutions.

Building Agency in Your Mid-Career as Faculty

As faculty move through their mid-career stage, there are numerous directions open to them for their future. Associate professors, both tenured and on the career track, can choose to focus more directly on their research, experiment with new teaching techniques, or focus on building skills to move into leadership positions. However, given all of these directions, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed at the mid-career stage. Additionally, outside pressures like service work, teaching requirements, and competing goals and priorities can make mid-career faculty feel like they have no say over their future. Building skills exemplified by leaders with agency can therefore help mid-career faculty to better manage their career journey and overall well-being. Join us for this interactive virtual training on the basics of building agency in your mid-career. Our speakers, Dr. Daryl Van Tongeren and Dr. Cié Gee, will walk you through skills that make up agency, like self-awareness of control, flexibility, psychological stability, and ownership of your role. You will learn how to build those skills in your own career—and what those skills can lead to.

Building a Transformative Mindset on Your Team

Institutions currently face a changing student demographic, increased student disengagement, and the Great Resignation, and their old methods of operating may no longer allow them to be successful in a changing higher education landscape. As institutions look to boost or maintain student enrollment and retention, as well as to retain their faculty and staff, breaking free of habitual practices and acting decisively are more important than ever. However, enacting transformative change at your institution requires your team to be creative and to make bold decisions. How do you create an environment where your team feels empowered to think innovatively and act quickly? Join us for a virtual training to learn how to create an environment that allows for transformation. Our expert speaker Glenn Davis will walk you through building a transformative mindset on your team and creating leaders who are empowered to act decisively. You will also see how the unintended consequences of letting those act who often know students best can lead to more innovative solutions.

Securing the Gift: Making the Ask with Confidence

Gift officers can sometimes feel uncomfortable making the ask for a variety of reasons, and the anxiety they can produce may be felt and mirrored by donors, leading to a “no.” However, not making the ask can lead to missed opportunities and a loss of momentum with key prospects. A successful ask comes down to the relationship you’ve built with the donor, being clear about your role and intent, and a strong solicitation strategy that leads up to this moment. This approach requires knowing your prospect well: understanding their giving history, what motivates them to give, and the relationships they’ve built with the different stakeholders at your institution. Join this session to gain insights on how to strategically approach a prospect you have in mind to make the ask. When done right, this moment in a donor relationship should come organically with the assurance that the answer will be a yes—and if it is not, that the relationship will remain on solid ground, and you will get another opportunity to make an ask in the future.

Improving Your Donor Pipeline Through Academic Leader and Advancement Collaboration

Enhancing collaboration among alumni engagement, annual giving, and academic leaders is a strategic priority for many institutions. By engaging deans and academic leaders intentionally and early in the fundraising cycle, advancement professionals can help their academic colleagues see themselves within philanthropic work. Perhaps more importantly, this partnership can also provide alumni and donors with clear opportunities to realize the impact of their relationship investments. In this virtual training, you will learn how to determine what meaningful engagement by academic leaders can look like to support building your pipeline and improve alumni and donor engagement. You will analyze your institutional culture and context to effectively establish a partnership between your advancement shop and academic leaders. Participants will walk away with useful ideas to strategically engage alumni and donors.

Keys to a Successful Relationship Between Deans and Development Officers

Philanthropy is critical to helping institutions meet their academic missions, and at its core, it is all about building and maintaining relationships. Although fundraising is just one of the myriad responsibilities overseen by an academic dean, the development officer is a key partner in assisting the dean in achieving those fundraising goals. To find success in academic fundraising, the relationship between an academic dean and a development officer must be one built on mutual respect, trust, and clear communication. Successful fundraising teams develop complementary skills that, when combined, are more effective than the skills of one individual. Through this three-hour virtual training, you will be able to better prioritize fundraising goals as a dean and development officer team. You will learn how to build trust and set expectations with mutual fundraising goals in mind, establish a process to effectively move donors through your pipeline, and practice essential skills such as making an ask.

When Fear is Holding You Back: A Framework to Support Career Aspirations and Self-Efficacy

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a swirl of fear, asking questions like: What if I don’t get the job? What if I do get the job, and I can’t do it? What if I’m underqualified? What if I’m overqualified? What if I’m too old? What if I’m too young? What if I don’t get paid enough? What will my parents/children/partner/team think?   You are not alone. It’s not uncommon to experience doubt; however, if you are making career decisions from a place of overwhelm, guilt, and fear, you may be missing out on great opportunities and tremendous joy. During this session, our expert speaker and coach will share how she herself has faced her “fear beasts” and will share three resources to help keep you going when the fear creeps in.  

Leveraging Your Alumni Data for Deeper Engagement

It wasn’t long ago that gathering alumni engagement data used to be a challenge at many institutions. This is no longer the case today, as alumni engagement data is routinely collected across the industry. However, many advancement shops may not have a full grasp of how best to utilize their data to identify potential volunteers or help steward current volunteers toward philanthropic opportunities. Take your alumni engagement to the next level by developing a data-informed approach to creating strategies to drive your alumni and donor engagement with a focus on both volunteerism and participation. By developing and utilizing metrics that can help to inform and direct your long-term engagement strategy with volunteers, you will not only be able to increase your giving capacity across the gift spectrum, but you will also gain a better understanding of how to approach your alumni events, ensuring that no effort is wasted in the cultivation of your future donor base. Join us at this one-day virtual training to learn how to turn your data into measurable metrics that lead to new volunteers and increased giving opportunities, and which also ensure that your events are strategic and helping to convert attendees to donors. You will […]

Loading survey...