• Leverage the Academic Impressions Leadership Framework (see below) to strengthen influence and collaboration.
• Discover your leadership style through the Five Paths to Leadership® Self-Assessment.
• Develop key skills in communication, influence, and team leadership.
• Create a Personal Leadership Development Plan to apply insights directly to your role.

Leading from the middle is no easy task. This event brings together seasoned mid- and senior-level leaders to tackle the essentials: expanding influence, honing self-awareness, and building impactful relationships. Dive into our leadership framework, which guides you from personal to team mastery, to help you:

• Strengthen your influence as a mid-level leader and liaison.
• Define and refine your unique leadership style.
• Build a powerful network in a collaborative, interactive setting.

This program is designed to be responsive to current needs and events across higher education philanthropy. Included below for your reference is the most recent agenda. It is subject to change slightly based on attendees’ emergent needs in October 2025. More details about the timing of the days can be found by clicking Learn More and Register.

Addressing Our Common Philanthropic Landscape
Higher education today is facing a range of challenges: federal funding losses, financial imbalance, increased competition, and enrollment decline, to name just a few. In this interactive session, you’ll consider current and future philanthropic opportunities and challenges in higher education, and we’ll discuss how these relate to changes in the philanthropic landscape that are emerging. You’ll begin to identify how these trends relate to your own institution.

Understanding Your Philanthropic Vital Signs
Donors give to institutions for four main reasons—appreciation, affiliation, agency, and accountability. These also constitute the philanthropic vital signs of your fundraising operation. In this session, you’ll have the opportunity to reflect on the health your own vital signs and how they can help you diagnose your funding vigor and improve your culture of philanthropy in the short, mid, and long term.

Setting Strategic Vision to Attract Philanthropic Investment
What do your existing strategic plan and fundraising priorities indicate about your vision? How well do your goals demonstrate how you will use your strengths to move the institution toward higher aspirations? In this session, you’ll learn how a purpose-driven model of facilitating philanthropic relationships can transform how you communicate your ability to achieve significant, sustainable societal outcomes as an institution.

Developing Concept Papers that Invite Donor Investment
One of the most meaningful ways you can engage a donor as a true partner is by presenting them with a concept paper that seeks their expertise on how to address a need in community or society. In this session, you’ll learn how answers to six key questions can be turned into compelling concept papers. You’ll identify an idea that you have for a concept paper, practice drafting it, and receive feedback on your draft from fellow attendees and the facilitators.

Engaging Self-Awareness in Philanthropic Facilitation
It can be difficult to effectively implement philanthropic strategy if you don’t understand your own leadership tendencies and styles. In this session, you’ll learn about the Five Paths to Leadership® Self-Assessment and identify how you can improve your overall effectiveness as a leader. Whether you’re interacting with internal stakeholders, alumni, donors, or other constituents, you’ll reflect on how your self-awareness can influence your ability to move philanthropic conversations forward.

Examining Leadership and Team Development
The ability to cultivate high-performing teams is essential for achieving organizational and philanthropic success. This session explores the key characteristics that define high-performing teams and the common signs of team dysfunction that hinder performance and collaboration. Using the Academic Impressions High-Performing Teams Assessment designed specifically for higher ed leaders, we’ll present the indicators of high-performing teams. You’ll also have a chance to ask questions and think about how you could use the assessment with cabinet leaders, advancement shops, and other teams across your institution.

Strengthening the Relationships Among the President, Board Chair, and Vice President of Advancement
Moving the institution toward realizing your strategic vision requires the president, board chair, and vice president of advancement to create an unbreakable triangle of common purpose and shared responsibility. During this session, you’ll learn how to foster a productive relationship among these three roles, define which responsibilities lie with each party, and set ground rules to maintain your focus and momentum.

Rotating Panels: Action Plan Sharing
One of the most powerful takeaways from this program is the community of practice that we build with institutional leaders who are doing this work every day. We’ll create dedicated and structured time for sharing your action plan based on what you’ve learned and how you can lead with a clear philanthropic strategy into the future. You’ll be able to strategize with your own team members, consult other attendees, and ask questions of the speaker panel to help round out your next steps from this experience.

Previous Attendee Breakdown

Academic Impressions conferences provide the opportunity for quality conversations and relationship-building through both formal and informal networking opportunities in an intimate setting. Our in-depth and hands-on approach to learning provides you with actionable takeaways.

Learn More About the Academic Impressions Conference Experience ➞