Inclusive Retention Strategies for Underrepresented Faculty

Establishing retention efforts for underrepresented faculty is just as important as recruiting, hiring, or onboarding them. We will discuss ways campuses may unintentionally fail at retaining talented faculty due to a lack of thorough and meaningful planning, including the absence of high-quality mentoring programs for underrepresented faculty. Our guest speaker, Dr. Bridget Turner Kelly, will highlight key findings from her recent book, Building Mentorship Networks to Support Black Women: A Guide to Succeeding in the Academy, during the live event. Additionally, we’ll share and discuss findings from our speaker’s study on Recruitment without Retention: A Critical Case of Black Faculty Unrest, followed by recommendations for assessing and improving current retention efforts for underrepresented faculty. Using what you learned, you will identify at least two strategies for improving retention efforts for underrepresented faculty on your campus.

Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable: Engaging in Dialogue About Race and Bias

Feelings of defensiveness and discomfort are common when engaging in conversations around race and bias. Even those who have done extensive reading on these emotionally-charged topics can find themselves fumbling if they haven’t yet reflected on how their own identities and biases impact the way they show up in the world—and in these difficult conversations. To get more comfortable engaging in these dialogues, we must first lean into the discomfort of individual reflection and actions that prepare us to enter them in an open and effective way. Join us for a two-hour virtual training followed by a one-hour Q&A where we will explore four key concepts and how they come into play during conversations around race and bias: Sources of Bias Intersectionality Triggers of Bias Unpacking Bias You will be given a workbook of activities, tools, and resources to help you move beyond simply understanding the definitions of these key concepts. Throughout the workshop, you will begin the hard work of making meaning of how race and bias play out in your life and any conversation you enter.

Articulate Your Value as Associate Dean

As an Associate Dean, you likely don’t have a traditional job description. Instead, you manage a portfolio of different projects, initiatives and responsibilities. In addition to your administrative responsibilities, you may also teach and conduct research. Your portfolio can therefore look very different in size, scope and impact compared to the portfolio of other Associate Deans—even within the same college. Additionally, it can grow and shrink over time based on the ever-changing needs and priorities of your college/institution. Because of this, the value of your role—and the impact you can have—can be unclear, unknown, or confusing to many—especially senior leaders. Join us online to learn how to bring greater awareness, understanding, and visibility to your role and relevance as a divisional leader. Alongside your peers, you’ll practice ways to identify, differentiate, and communicate the full scope and impact of your work. Most importantly, you’ll gain confidence in your ability to communicate how your work supports and adds value to the college/institution.

Strengthening the Relationship Between Development and Alumni Relations Teams

Development and alumni relations teams make different yet equally important contributions to meeting institutional advancement goals. However, it can be difficult for these teams to focus on their relationships with one another when they are also focused on meeting different metrics and responding to the various needs of donors and alumni. Taking time to establish a communication plan or strategy for both alumni relations and development teams can be a real challenge amidst the day-to-day upkeep of meeting obligations and competing priorities. Additionally, knowing how to apply this communication strategy to working with other internal campus partners, like academic units, is just as important given their key roles in stewarding volunteers and donors for both units. Join us for this one-day virtual event designed specifically for alumni relations and development teams who would like to strengthen their internal working relationships to improve their success with fundraising, alumni engagement, and other advancement initiatives.

Impact of Repeal: Institutional Responses to the Dobbs Decision

The Supreme Court decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned the longstanding right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade in 1973, and colleges are now faced with determining if and how to respond to the needs expressed by students, faculty, and staff. This program will examine the public responses by several institutions through case studies to better help surface the factors that campuses may need to consider as they determine their approach to this topic.

Reimagining the Faculty Mid-Career Stage: Reenergize Your Research and Find New Pathways

The mid-career stage for faculty is often characterized as a time of stagnation, burnout, and lack of clarity. Getting to this point has likely taken significant effort and you may no longer benefit from institutionally sponsored support, all while having new service and leadership responsibilities become part of your workload. Despite these challenges, the mid-career stage does not have to be marked by frustration and lack of productivity. To look at this period from a different vantage point, you’ve made a lot of progress, learned who you are as an academic, and have a wealth of new skills and knowledge to employ. In this two-hour training, you will start to change the narrative around your mid-career juncture from stale routine to fresh opportunity. Our subject-matter expert will provide tips for gaining clarity, lay out different options you can pursue, and provide tools to use in re-envisioning and planning your research and scholarship work going forward.

Integrating Guided Pathways and Learning Communities to Enhance Student Retention

Many institutions have turned to guided pathways to increase retention and generate momentum for a degree path among their students. Other institutions, meanwhile, have offered learning communities (LCs) for years, in the form of residential LCs, linked-course communities, residential colleges or coordinated studies programs, as a way to develop a sense of community and foster collaboration between faculty and students. However, few institutions truly integrate the two to create a degree path that intersects learning community coursework with core and major curriculum while extending learning beyond the classroom. As students increasingly question the value of a college degree, using both strategies in tandem can show students how their entire college journey contributes to their future goals. Join us for an interactive two-hour virtual training on integrating guided pathways and learning communities as a way to boost student engagement and retention. Our accomplished speakers, Dr. Richie Gebauer and Dr. Michelle Filling-Brown from Cabrini University, will guide you through establishing a shared purpose that drives the integration of guided pathways and learning community efforts while also addressing challenges that may arise in the marriage of these initiatives. You will further learn why integrating the two can work in your institution’s favor and […]

Positioning Your Leadership Annual Giving Program for Continued Success

As you work to strengthen your leadership annual giving program, it is imperative to build internal partnerships that will support and complement your work. These sessions will therefore focus on building relationships with internal partners and enhancing connections between your leadership annual giving efforts and your entire advancement team. You will learn how to quantify and present your program to upper-level management in a way that best positions your program for additional investments and support. Our expert instructor will help you to prioritize your efforts and design a long-term plan for maximizing your program’s effectiveness.

Considering Communication and Stewardship in Leadership Annual Giving

Communicating the purpose of your leadership annual giving program should be a thoughtful and strategic process to build both donor loyalty as well as your donor pipeline. This session will help you to define specific communications and stewardship strategies for your leadership annual donors. Our expert instructor will also offer ways to build effective communication strategies that outline and emphasize the importance of leadership giving. Particular attention will be paid to young alumni, social media, and making a compelling case for support. You will also learn how to build an impactful stewardship program to ensure that you not only retain your leadership donors, but also retain and upgrade them successfully.

Developing Essential Fundraising Skills for Leadership Annual Giving

To be an effective leadership annual giving officer, you must gain the skills for achieving and managing personal visits. First, you’ll learn how to set goals and metrics, then you’ll learn to identify the necessary legwork to cultivate donors for this type of solicitation. Our expert instructor will focus on teaching the fundraising skills necessary for obtaining donor visits, ensuring that visits are productive, and creating a culture that promotes buy-in from those future major donors. There will also be roleplay opportunities to help you put the content into practice.