As the higher education landscape evolves, so too will its body of academic administrators. The administrative structure of most institutions has grown in complexity, resulting in more potential options for those interested in academic leadership to consider. However, despite this reality, many faculty continue to view administration as “the dark side” or are unsure of how to prepare themselves for non-faculty roles. In addition, as women and historically marginalized faculty have consistently achieved tenure and promotion at lower rates than their peers, this makes the myth of “one sole pathway” even more harmful. Join us for a panel discussion designed to help you broaden that narrative, get clear on your goals, and expose you to the drawbacks and advantages of the different possible career paths before you. Specifically, you will hear: Personal narratives from our subject matter experts outlining two distinct paths to administration. Different options for reaching traditional and non-traditional academic leadership positions. How you can seek out environments that support your goals. The pitfalls and opportunities of different choice points along your path. You will also walk away with: A resource for mapping short-term goals to get you started on your path, and; Useful tips for how to […]
It’s an unfortunate fact that harmful and biased statements occur in the workplace—and it’s all too common for leaders to respond to these scenarios in ways that shame the individuals who perpetrated that behavior. Yet, while it is important to address these situations swiftly when they occur, it is even more beneficial to repair harm in the moment without shaming. Through proven experiential activities and small-group discussion, participants who are leading teams will better understand the impacts of harmful and biased statements even when unintended, and they will also develop strategies that can disrupt the harms and impacts of these types of behaviors when they occur. Participants will understand that remaining silent when harm occurs perpetuates inequity and hinders the ability to create inclusive and welcoming spaces for employment and learning. This training will therefore give participants the confidence to respond to these incidents in a way that creates a better sense of belonging, and with a climate that promotes, enhances, and fosters inclusivity within teams.
Many leaders strive to create an inclusive environment for their employees, but this can be difficult to achieve without first taking time to understand how our own identity can impact our ability to engage in effective and supportive dialogue with a diverse team. Through this training’s experiential activities and small-group discussion, participants who are leading teams will gain a better sense of their own identities and how power, privilege, and oppression interplay with these established identities and those around them. Participants will also learn and practice active listening, suspending judgment, leaning into discomfort, and using empathy as ways to be more culturally sensitive and responsive within work and academic environments—ultimately, emphasizing respect for different lived experiences overall.
Before assuming a formal leadership position, gaining key leadership skills can set faculty up for a marked increase in leadership success while avoiding the burden of learning new skills while taking on a new role. Instead, you can proactively prepare for leadership positions while also learning skills and concepts that benefit your current role. This training has been designed for faculty who wish to prepare for academic leadership positions in the future, or who simply desire the skills to better navigate the formal and informal roles that go along with teaching, research, and service. In the second part of this training, you will be introduced to practical frameworks that provide a basis for understanding the skills and concepts necessary for a leadership role. We will focus on the following three domains of competency: Individual and group decision making: The quality of our decisions strongly influences our academic environment. Understanding what decision-making models and techniques should be used—and when, and how—enables leaders to better support and guide groups in their own decision making. Strategic thinking and doing: Whereas strategic planning is usually a time-consuming activity typically accomplished every 5 years, strategic thinking and doing, on the other hand, is essential to […]
Maximizing philanthropic opportunities is the underlying objective of every advancement shop. A fundamental part of ensuring this objective is achieved comes from broad engagement with major donors—which involves strategic communications and connections from various units and stakeholders on campus. To ensure that communication efforts with major donors are well organized, having information on who is engaging these donors (and why, and when) is crucial to securing a major gift. By establishing an institutional engagement council that is spearheaded by advancement, your shop will manage and grow deeper relationships with major donors more effectively by calculating the right moments for connecting with them. Join us for this important online training to learn how you can make the case to establish and execute a successful university engagement council for your campus.
The Covid-19 pandemic laid bare issues with retention, psychological safety, and a sense of belonging that leaders in higher education must face on their own teams. Faculty and staff thrive on strong teams with a positive, productive culture, and leaders who are empathic and humble create a team culture where it is possible to undo toxic traits, bridge cultural divides, and increase employee retention. Join us for an interactive, 3-hour virtual training to help leaders learn how to build practical skills and better demonstrate humility and empathy toward their team members. During the training, we will cover: What is humility, and how can you use a humble mindset to build empathy? Why should you want to have humility and empathy as a leader? Practical applications of empathetic, humble leadership
Many institutions are already using proactive advising to help students in danger of failing or dropping out. But are you effectively communicating with both staff and academically at-risk students to maximize your impact? Proactive advising techniques can help you to increase student retention and completion rates through improving interdepartmental communication and creating a better understanding of which students to prioritize at certain points during the year. Join us for a 90-minute virtual training to learn how advisors of undergraduate students can use proactive advising in order to improve students’ motivation and academic success. Here, industry expert Joseph Connell will share tips around timing and key messages for outreach, and how to get other departments onboard with your communication plan. We’ll also discuss how to empower students to be an active part of the advising process.
As students, faculty, and staff return to campus life, the impromptu conversations that characterize in-person interactions are naturally more likely to resume. Data shows that the rate of students reporting a sense of disconnection from campus, anxiety, and depression has increased during the pandemic. Students returning to campus will need more support than ever. Front-line faculty and staff without a counseling background may feel detached, confused, or anxious interacting with students experiencing these challenges, and they may also have additional trouble setting boundaries with students and practicing their own self-care. Join us for an interactive training to learn and practice six simple ways to support students who are exhibiting signs of a mental health condition. Small shifts in communication can go a long way toward making a difference in the lives of students. Additionally, we will discuss how to care for yourself through those conversations—and how to set appropriate boundaries with students around mental health.
A new generation of frontline fundraisers who have different values and needs, combined with a rapidly changing social environment and labor market, are making the task of selecting, developing, and retaining fundraising teams more difficult than ever. Yet we know that our ability to sustainably raise fundraising revenue year after year depends on having skilled and high-performing fundraising talent. By fostering committed teams as well as supporting the growth and development of individual employees, you can improve overall fundraising performance and create the type of impact that our institutions, donors and employees all aspire to. Join us for this one-day virtual conference that will focus on how you can increase fundraising capacity by focusing on how to build, lead, and retain a high-performing frontline fundraising team. Through a blend of individual and group activities, our expert faculty will share key strategies on how to develop a healthy team culture and establish career paths for your early pipeline fundraisers. Best practices in performance management consulting and how to partner with academic leaders in their fundraising efforts will also be explored and discussed during this live event. For additional training on how you can improve your fundraising capacity by building an effective […]
When prospect and donor values around diversity, equity, and inclusion do not align with your institutional values, tension can develop in the relationship, leading to difficult conversations that can have a negative impact on frontline fundraising goals. Knowing how to effectively communicate and interact with your prospects and donors can lead to deeper relationships with mutually beneficial goals. Join us in this workshop to understand how your frontline fundraising team can navigate conversations that foster inclusion by: Assessing and analyzing your team’s current knowledge and competence when engaging in diversity-related conversations. Adequately preparing your frontline fundraisers for the conversations they’re having with donors, and about their own personal alignment with the values of your institution. Implementing approaches to prospect and donor conversations that can lead to deeper and more sustainable long-term relationships. Build upon these practices for a more effective fundraising team by registering for Building, Leading, and Retaining a High-Performance Frontline Fundraising Team on Tuesday, June 28 from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET.
