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Transformational Gifts: Attaining the Gift of a Lifetime

Transformational gifts are often the result of decades of strategic stewardship efforts that culminate in a gift that impacts the institution for generations to come. However, understanding what motivates and compels donors to make a transformational gift is a key aspect that is missing at many shops. To advance the vision of your institution, you must learn to successfully navigate both the internal and external complexities of high-level donors and gifts.  Join us to learn valuable strategies for cultivating and soliciting your top donors in ways that can alter the future of your institution. You will learn how to:  Included with your registration is a workbook with action-planning worksheets and stewardship tools that will be invaluable as you develop your transformational gift strategy. 

Essential Leadership Skills for Department Chairs

Leading as an academic department chair is difficult under the best of circumstances. You must balance the competing interests of faculty and administration and stretch limited resources, all while maintaining your own scholarship and teaching loads. Add to this the uncertainty and complexity of leading through an ever-changing higher ed landscape, and it becomes clear that the current environment can test even the most seasoned leaders.  Join us in person for this essential two-day conference designed specifically to help academic department chairs discover or reconnect with the most effective ways to lead in a variety of situations and circumstances. On day one, you’ll begin by reflecting on your approach to leadership, where you’ll explore ways to enhance your overall leadership effectiveness. You’ll also examine how your position of influence can support and enable the engagement, collaboration, and, ultimately, the success of your faculty and staff. The focus for day two will be to explore one of the trickiest topics a leader must face—conflict—and you’ll practice tools and strategies that will allow you to navigate that conflict with greater confidence and ease.  We’ve trained thousands of department chairs over the last 20 years, and our curriculum is designed by  former Chair […]

Building a Sustainable Culture of Service Excellence  

You’ve introduced the idea of enhancing customer service on your campus, you’ve read the latest trends, and have provided training for your team. And now the hard part begins—moving from the idea stage to the sustainable actions that will lead to change, especially when it comes to retention and the student experience. This webcast will share specific and actionable steps to leading lasting culture change around service excellence at your institution. How can you move from offering a service excellence training, to building a true service excellence culture on your campus? This webcast will help you to keep the momentum going. 

Leading Collaboratively: An In-Person Conference for Mid-Level Supervisors

As a mid-level supervisor, you have a unique opportunity to lean into your leadership strengths in order to lead in a more collaborative way to foster innovation and inclusion in your team. Through the Academic Impressions Five Paths to Leadership℠ Self-Assessment, you will discover how you show up as a leader in typical circumstances as well as during times of stress, and use this understanding to identify how to work more effectively with colleagues, your supervisor, and members of your team.    You will also have the opportunity to network with other mid-level supervisors from different institutions and share best practices as we model collaborative meeting design. This conference will focus on practical skillsets and practices that will enable you as the leader to navigate change and complexity while still leading collaboratively. You will then have the opportunity to reflect and identify next steps for envisioning your team.  The skillsets and practices that we will explore include:    

Executive-Level Leadership: An Institute for Advanced Women Leaders in Higher Education

While women make up nearly half of the higher education workforce, they continue to be underrepresented—and underpaid—in organizational leadership roles. The goal of this conference is to bring current and aspiring executive leaders in higher education together to co-create knowledge and deepen your leadership skillset. This program is intentionally built upon Academic Impressions’ leadership model, which takes a holistic approach to leadership across four key dimensions: self-awareness and personal development, interpersonal leadership skills, team development, and leading at the organizational level.    If you identify as a woman, are leading at a strategic level in higher education, are looking to deepen your leadership skillset in community with other women leaders, or you have already participated in our foundational Women’s Leadership Success in Higher Education Conference, this experience is for you.   Highlights of the conference include: 

Supervision Certificate Program – October 2nd Cohort

All too often in higher education, individuals move into a supervisory role without the necessary tools and skills to be successful. Particularly in today’s challenging environments, effective supervision is key to building an equally effective culture where each individual can contribute to team success. Join us online for a four-week bootcamp specifically designed for higher education supervisors who are new to their roles or looking to deepen their skills.

Supervision Certificate Program – September 5th Cohort

All too often in higher education, individuals move into a supervisory role without the necessary tools and skills to be successful. Particularly in today’s challenging environments, effective supervision is key to building an equally effective culture where each individual can contribute to team success. Join us online for a four-week bootcamp specifically designed for higher education supervisors who are new to their roles or looking to deepen their skills.

Faculty Affairs Summit: Building Comprehensive Support for Mid-Career Faculty

Based on the findings of Academic Impressions’ 2022 Faculty Retention Survey, faculty at the mid-career stage, within the ages of 35–50, report both the lowest levels of satisfaction and the highest levels of burnout. Faculty at the mid-career stage are the keystones of the institution, yet they often end up stagnating, negatively impacting climate and productivity, and/or leaving the academy altogether. As a Faculty Affairs professional, you are charged with providing holistic support for mid-career faculty but must do so on what often feels like constantly shifting ground.    Join us for our second annual Faculty Affairs Summit to explore what comprehensive ecosystems of support for mid-career faculty can look like. In addition to the opportunity to network, hear best practices from your peers, and develop leadership skills that will aid you in your work, we will also collectively explore the following aspects of mid-career faculty development:  

Demo for Ops

Dogs, often hailed as humans’ best friends, have been the topic of many scientific studies looking into how they might boost our well-being. In this Spotlight, we’ll explain how your friendly pup can benefit your health across the board. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), an estimated 78 million dogs are owned as pets in the United States. It is unclear when dogs were first domesticated, but a studyTrusted Source published last year claims that, at least in Europe, dogs were tamed 20,000–40,000 years ago. It is likely that humans and dogs have shared a special bond of friendship and mutual support ever since at least the Neolithic period — but why has this bond been so long-lasting? Of course, these cousins of the wolves have historically been great at keeping us and our dwellings safe, guarding our houses, our cattle, and our various material goods. Throughout history, humans have also trained dogs to assist them with hunting, or they have bred numerous quirky-looking species for their cuteness or elegance.

Between Shame and Supremacy: A Model for Healthy White Identity Development 

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts have provoked a tidal wave of fury from a broad swath of Americans, especially some White Americans, who believe such efforts paint all White people as “bad people.” Until we develop a more nuanced understanding of the White racial identity development process that decenters shame and guilt and recenters the damaging effects of structural racism on all of us, we will continue to elicit sharp resistance that stymies social justice struggles.  In this interactive workshop, you will have a chance to further your own self-awareness and understanding by engaging with concepts around the history of Whiteness, White socialization, and the psychology of White racial development in the U.S. today. You will leave the event with: