Archives: Courses

Alumni Relations Discussion Series: Responding to Evolving Alumni Behavior

Alumni relations professionals have experienced numerous significant changes in recent years. Faced with challenges such as communicating value to other areas of the shop, managing talent and volunteers in a hybrid work environment, interpreting new sources of data and metrics, and continuously adapting strategy to forge more meaningful connections with alumni, many need a space to step back, reflect, and exchange ideas with peers.     Join us for an online series to discuss hot topics facing alumni relations professionals just like you. You’ll have space to share pressing concerns, questions, and current practices with others in the field in anticipation of what’s next for the alumni relations profession.   Each session will be facilitated by our expert panel:   Collectively, they bring 30+ years of experience to the table as leaders/supervisors of alumni relations professionals. 

Strengthening Your Relationship with Your Dean

You can’t support your dean in effectively managing their relationships with others if you don’t have a solid relationship with them yourself. In this session, you’ll have the opportunity to identify the strengths and opportunities for improvement within your relationship with your dean, including how you work together to approach donor visits.

Navigating the New Reality of Mergers, Acquisitions, and Closures in Higher Education

Mergers, acquisitions, and closures are a reality for a large number of colleges and universities as the landscape of higher education continues to change. Colleges are seeking to be more competitive than ever. However, successful mergers/acquisitions cannot be only about survival or fixing bad economics; the resulting institution must be stronger as a result. Otherwise, when mergers and acquisitions fail to provide the perceived financial reward, closure is often the only option.   Unfortunately, the benefits of scale and competitiveness do not come easily or without risk. Key facts and information must be understood when evaluating, negotiating, and implementing a strategic merger. Further, it’s already too late to prepare once a merger or alliance is actively being pursued. Leaders need to be proactive and understand the landscape so that they can be either opportunistic or strategically positioned to create the best possible outcome for their institution. In this session, we will explore the following topics:  

Preparing for Difficult Conversations as Faculty 

Whether through conflicts in research groups, having to negotiate boundaries around service, or dealing with academic dishonesty in students, faculty can often be confronted with the need for difficult conversations. But even knowing there is a need, it is all too easy to avoid the hard conversations due to overwhelming emotions, discomfort with conflict, or fear of the situation escalating. Preparing for difficult conversations beforehand can therefore help faculty feel more of a sense of control over the situation as well as helping to manage their internal narrative.   Join us for a one-hour training on how to prepare for difficult conversations as faculty. Drawing from Anita Kite’s work in Managing Difficult Conversations as Faculty, we will walk through the four precautions in preparation, including:   You will have the chance to reflect on how you would respond to some specific scenarios, and to plan for any difficult conversations you may need to have using helpful tips and strategies.

A Values-Based Approach to Leading Through Shared Governance: A Discussion for Department Chairs

Your personal core values guide the decisions you make, the way you communicate, and how you lead and inspire others. Given this, it’s wise to examine how your values may support or hinder shared governance, so that you understand how your leadership can inspire faculty and staff to engage in the process.  Join us for a one-hour discussion where we will explore how your values influence the way you lead within shared governance. Although the conversation will be responsive to the questions asked by the attendees, we anticipate discussing some of the following themes:  In what ways do you demonstrate your values within shared governance?  When and how do your values help or hinder your leadership within shared governance?  Come prepared to engage in dialogue, ask questions, and share insights that can help you and other department chairs confidently navigate shared governance.

The Balancing Act of Succession Planning in the Academy: A Discussion for Faculty Affairs & Academic Leaders

The quickly shifting landscape of higher education in recent years, as well as its potential future in years to come, requires that our institutions develop strong and capable leadership at all levels. Identifying and cultivating leaders with the requisite experience and skills that embody effective and inclusive leadership remains one of the most difficult but crucial challenges for today’s leaders to navigate.   In a climate where it’s all too easy to fall back on what’s comfortable and risk tolerance is low, it’s more important than ever to think critically about how leaders in higher education are developed—and who is developing them. Among these challenges and considerations, are how to:  Join us for this free session, where you’ll hear from our panelists: Neva Specht, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at Appalachian State University, and Sarah Zehr Gantz, Senior Assistant Vice President for Academic Initiatives and Policies at the University of Illinois System, as well as your peers in similar positions across the country. You will have a chance to learn and share with fellow attendees and will leave with an enhanced understanding of how leaders are thinking about these challenges at other institutions. 

Managing Difficult Customers

In part two of this discussion series, The Impact of Enhancing Customer Service in Higher Education, learn techniques for diffusing common challenges that arise when managing difficult customers. You won’t make everyone happy, but you can surely try!

Develop Your Executive Presence as Department Chair

As a department chair, you have more visibility and impact across the campus when compared to when you were simply an individual contributor as a faculty member. Given the complex and ever-changing landscape within higher ed, it’s more important than ever to demonstrate your executive presence.    Executive presence is your ability to inspire confidence at all levels within the organization. It’s the ability to inspire faculty and staff to follow you because they trust your leadership. It’s the ability to inspire confidence in your peers and senior leaders that you’re reliable and capable. However, as a new department chair, this charge can feel daunting, given everything you need to learn.   Join us online for a one-hour discussion where we will address the following questions:  Come prepared to engage in dialogue, ask questions, and share insights that can help you and other department chairs to confidently navigate your transition to department leader. 

Alumni Relations Discussion Series: Managing and Motivating Talent

Alumni relations professionals have experienced numerous significant changes in recent years. Faced with challenges such as communicating value to other areas of the shop, managing talent and volunteers in a hybrid work environment, interpreting new sources of data and metrics, and continuously adapting strategy to forge more meaningful connections with alumni, many need a space to step back, reflect, and exchange ideas with peers.     Join us for an online series to discuss hot topics facing alumni relations professionals just like you. You’ll have space to share pressing concerns, questions, and current practices with others in the field in anticipation of what’s next for the alumni relations profession.   Each session will be facilitated by our expert panel:   Collectively, they bring 30+ years of experience to the table as leaders/supervisors of alumni relations professionals. 

Making the Ask of a Future Mentor

Having a network of support throughout your career is key to success and sustainability. As faculty, you may have been assigned a mentor—or matched with one through a formal mentoring program. With this in mind, you may need to ask for mentoring support from other faculty, staff, or professionals you know in order to enhance one particular area of your work. These relationships can often be short-term and centered around a specific need. Making that “ask” of someone clearly and concisely will help potential mentors to match themselves with your needs and understand the time commitment you are asking for.   Join us for a discussion on how to “make the ask” of a potential mentor in order to develop a mentoring network for yourself. Drawing from Katharine Stewart’s work in The Consultative Approach to Mentoring: Building a Network of Support, we will:   You will leave the discussion with a sense of who you may need to reach out to for short-term mentorship, along with some valuable strategies to use to reach out to them.  

Strategies to Build Your Donor Base: Artificial Intelligence

As competition for donor dollars increases, it’s more important than ever to build solid strategies around the three critical components of the annual giving fundraising cycle: acquisition, participation, and retention.   Join us for a discussion series to learn new ideas for how to build and sustain a healthy donor base. In community with other annual giving professionals across the nation, you will engage in dialogue, share current practices, and have space to ask questions about how to apply these new strategies at your own institution.   Each session will be co-facilitated by our expert panel, Nky McGinnis, Executive Director of Annual Giving Programs at the University of Rochester, and Tyrell Warren-Burnett, Senior Director of Annual Giving at Oregon State University Foundation. Collectively, they bring 25+ years of experience to the table as annual giving professionals. 

Alumni Relations Discussion Series: Data Collection and Metrics

Alumni relations professionals have experienced numerous significant changes in recent years. Faced with challenges such as communicating value to other areas of the shop, managing talent and volunteers in a hybrid work environment, interpreting new sources of data and metrics, and continuously adapting strategy to forge more meaningful connections with alumni, many need a space to step back, reflect, and exchange ideas with peers.     Join us for an online series to discuss hot topics facing alumni relations professionals just like you. You’ll have space to share pressing concerns, questions, and current practices with others in the field in anticipation of what’s next for the alumni relations profession.   Each session will be facilitated by our expert panel:   Collectively, they bring 30+ years of experience to the table as leaders/supervisors of alumni relations professionals. 

Explore the Power of Faculty Mentoring:  A Discussion for Department Chairs

Faculty mentoring programs provide benefits to all involved. They can help new faculty to acclimate to and engage in a new campus culture. They assist junior faculty in developing the necessary competencies to succeed at teaching, research, and service—all of which can expedite the promotion and tenure process. For senior faculty, the ability to give back and demonstrate their leadership can be a way to re-engage and recognize their long-standing commitment to the institution. Mentoring has the power to retain and build long-term capital with your faculty, which is vital given the increasing difficulty today in recruiting new talent. With so much on the line, it’s important that you understand your role as department chair in designing meaningful faculty mentoring experiences.  Join us online for a one-hour discussion where we will explore best practices for how to create meaningful faculty mentoring experiences that have the potential to engage or re-engage your faculty.  The conversation will be responsive to the questions asked by the attendees, so come prepared to engage in dialogue and share insights with other department chairs from across the country.

Establishing a Culture of Philanthropy as an Academic Dean

Philanthropic work in higher education is as important as ever, as the cost of delivering a high-quality education continues to increase. Academic deans are situated in an important role that allows them to guide the strategic direction of their school or college to help meet the academic mission of their institution. But to achieve their strategic vision, deans must embrace their responsibility to foster a culture of philanthropy within their academic unit to ensure success for years to come. This video course will be beneficial to any academic dean—new or experienced—or those aspiring to the role who are seeking to develop or refine a plan to achieve philanthropic goals for their institution. This course is designed to help you understand what a culture of philanthropy is, why it is important, what your responsibility is as a dean in establishing a culture of philanthropy, and how to approach fundraising as a part of this culture. Our expert instructor, Dr. Wade Weast, will help you to understand how your roles as a visionary, collaborator, role model, and fundraiser come together to help alumni, donors, and friends of your academic unit leave a lasting impact. Accompanying this course is a workbook designed to […]

Strategies to Build Your Donor Base: Digital Engagement

As competition for donor dollars increases, it’s more important than ever to build solid strategies around the three critical components of the annual giving fundraising cycle: acquisition, participation, and retention.   Join us for a discussion series to learn new ideas for how to build and sustain a healthy donor base. In community with other annual giving professionals across the nation, you will engage in dialogue, share current practices, and have space to ask questions about how to apply these new strategies at your own institution.   Each session will be co-facilitated by our expert panel, Nky McGinnis, Executive Director of Annual Giving Programs at the University of Rochester, and Tyrell Warren-Burnett, Senior Director of Annual Giving at Oregon State University Foundation. Collectively, they bring 25+ years of experience to the table as annual giving professionals. 

Understanding and Clarifying Faculty Mentoring Roles

As faculty navigate mentoring relationships, a number of challenges can arise as a result of expectations and roles not being as clearly defined as possible. Mentors can serve in many different roles for mentees, including coaches, confidants, teachers, guides, advocates, sponsors, and more. Mentors may even move between roles depending on the needs of their mentees. It is important therefore for mentors and mentees alike to have the same understanding of the mentoring relationship in order to avoid challenges like role confusion, role expansion, and role overreach.  Join us for a one-hour discussion focused on how to identify the potential role difficulties in mentoring relationships and how to overcome those difficulties. Drawing on the work of Katharine Stewart in Make the Most of Mentoring: Best Practices and Core Principles for Mentors and Mentees, we will:  

Alumni Relations Discussion Series: Staying Relevant

Alumni relations professionals have experienced numerous significant changes in recent years. Faced with challenges such as communicating value to other areas of the shop, managing talent and volunteers in a hybrid work environment, interpreting new sources of data and metrics, and continuously adapting strategy to forge more meaningful connections with alumni, many need a space to step back, reflect, and exchange ideas with peers.     Join us for an online series to discuss hot topics facing alumni relations professionals just like you. You’ll have space to share pressing concerns, questions, and current practices with others in the field in anticipation of what’s next for the alumni relations profession.   Each session will be facilitated by our expert panel:   Collectively, they bring 30+ years of experience to the table as leaders/supervisors of alumni relations professionals.