Public Speaking Bootcamp: A Hands-On Approach to Developing and Delivering Effective Communication 

Communication is a critical skill for leaders. As challenges facing higher education grow more complex and communication methods more diverse, the need to feel confident in your ability to speak publicly is essential. This bootcamp, spanning four two-hour sessions, is led and facilitated by an experienced higher education leader with extensive expertise in teaching and engaging in public speaking. You will practice essential skills such as developing clear and effective content, how to understand and reduce public speaking anxiety, and how to confidently deliver your message. Highlights of this program include: A Highly Personalized Experience Your registration for this bootcamp includes four weekly small-group sessions with our expert faculty, as well as feedback and learning as a part of a cohort of learners. A hallmark of the Academic Impressions bootcamp experience, this focused attention will provide you with the space and time to identify and work toward your public speaking goals and to also identify next steps to keep you learning and growing beyond the four sessions. To preserve the intimate and interactive nature of this training, the bootcamp is limited to 12 participants. Register early to reserve your spot! Interested in Learning More About Public Speaking? Register for the Maximize Your […]

Faculty Mentorship: Incorporating Inclusive Practices to Foster Faculty Success

Faculty mentorship has proven to be a key factor in faculty success, as it increases research productivity, improves career satisfaction, and plays a crucial role in retaining faculty. Mentorship is especially important for historically underrepresented faculty, who face more barriers to career advancement in the academy than their white male cisgender peers. But knowing how to establish high-quality mentorship programs and how to effectively mentor across differences can be difficult. How can you set up meaningful mentor relationships that acknowledge and center issues of power and privilege across race, gender, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, and generational differences? This conference is designed to help both current faculty mentors and those who oversee faculty mentoring programs to develop better and more inclusive mentoring practices. Inclusive mentorship creates a dynamic where mentor and mentee can dialogue across differences and connect in a mutually beneficial relationship. In this virtual conference, you will gain practical strategies to help you:

Recognizing & Resisting Imposter Syndrome: A Discussion Series

The competitiveness, individualism, and emphasis on expertise in higher education creates an environment ripe for imposter syndrome, where people across roles and responsibilities feel as if they are not “enough” or ever “doing enough.” In this discussion series, you will learn how imposter syndrome operates, both institutionally and psychologically, to keep you from contributing your best self to the world. Using insights from recent research on imposter syndrome and focused reflection questions, our leadership coach, Jennifer Askey, will help you see through your own imposter syndrome and identify strategies for managing it in your day-to-day life. Each discussion in the series will feature research and/or a unique case study to guide the conversation. You can join all three discussions or attend only one, as preferred.

Women’s Leadership Success in Higher Education

Are you looking to take the next step in leadership but aren’t sure where to start? What strengths do you have that can help you lead with excellence? Would you like to connect with other women leaders in higher education for shared learning and support? Please join us for this powerful two-day leadership conference and experience. With this event, you will have opportunities to build a valuable affinity network with your peers that can provide mentorship and guidance as you move forward with your goals afterward. In addition, you will be able to take our Five Paths to Leadership℠ Self-Assessment before the conference at no additional charge. This assessment will help you to understand ways of achieving greater balance among five forms of intelligence in order to improve your overall effectiveness as a leader. You will actively use the results of this assessment during the first session.

Strategies for Campaign Planning and Public Launch

Due to popularity, this event has been moved to a larger venue 1 mile away from the original location. The event will now take place at the Denver Marriott Tech Center. Please see the Location header below for more details. The most critical phases of a successful campaign are the preparation leading up to the public launch, the launch itself, and the immediate road show that ensues. To pull off such a large-scale initiative, you want a cohesive culture of philanthropy thriving on your campus, a thoroughly thought-out marketing and communications strategy, committed volunteers, and significant progress on your fundraising goals. None of this comes easily, however. With challenges such as leadership and staff transitions, economic or societal uncertainty, or even negative publicity, you must be prepared to adjust and pivot where needed to continue down your planned path to campaign success. Join us to learn in-depth strategies and solutions covering:

Essential Leadership Skills for Deans

Leading as an academic Dean demands a specific and often diverse skillset that requires you to inspire those above, across, and below you in the organizational structure. If that’s not complex enough, you’re doing this work in the context of frequent leadership transitions, evolving student needs, increasing competitive pressures, scarce resources, and the highest levels of burnout seen in decades. It quickly becomes clear that being a leader in today’s current higher education environment can test even the most seasoned of leaders. Join us for this highly interactive in-person conference to learn new strategies and approaches for how to address some of the most common challenges you’re currently facing as a Dean. Special focus will be given to how to create a unit culture that makes for a great place to work, and with the help of our expert speaker panel and a network of other deans, you will have the time, space, and support to discuss how to: Through a variety of group activities and discussions, you’ll share your perspective on how to successfully navigate your role, and you’ll also walk away with useful insights from other academic deans, as well.

The Fundamentals of Leadership for New or Aspiring Leaders in Higher Education

New leaders often find themselves learning on the go—and often at the expense of intentional reflection of their leadership strengths, journey, or skill development. This leadership conference, facilitated by experienced higher education leaders, provides you with a set of tools for applying the key tenets of successful and equitable leadership. You’ll practice how to approach difficult and complex conversations through healthy and constructive dialogue so that you can increase trust, motivation, and engagement within your team. You will also gain the confidence and skills needed to become a more effective leader in higher education, rooted in both a deeper awareness of your core purpose as a leader and in your commitment to equity. Highlights of the program include:

Transitioning Leadership Annual Donors into Major Donors

To shift the mindset of a leadership annual donor into that of a major donor is a task that requires you to go beyond just knowing their capacity; you must also understand what the donor wants to see their gift accomplish, and how to align that specific desire with your institutional needs. This requires knowing the effectiveness of each component of your leadership giving program and how to best manage and develop your leadership annual donors. Join us at this in-person conference to learn portfolio management and stewardship techniques to successfully transition leadership annual donors into major gift prospects. You will learn how to: