On average, it takes three submissions before a faculty member will get their proposal for funding accepted by a grant agency. To complicate matters, the reviews that accompany the rejection are often complex and contradictory, so it can be difficult to know how to move forward – especially when many faculty get little help interpreting reviews. As such, many faculty members, especially junior faculty, simply give up on the proposal too soon and do not put effort into revising and resubmitting it. When this happens, important research may be left undone, the institution cannot meet its strategic goal of growing research, and faculty find it difficult to publish in top journals and stay on track for promotion and tenure. Join our expert instructor to learn how to review and analyze your declined grant proposals with a fresh perspective – one that will give you confidence in how to best move forward with your declined proposal, as well as all future proposals. Our expert will guide you through the process that will teach you how to: Objectively assess your individual reviews Identify patterns and uncover the most critical feedback Anticipate hidden weaknesses Identify both the root causes and underlying conditions preventing an award Develop a plan for resubmission If you’re looking to better understand the proposal review process and put yourself in reviewers’ shoes, this webcast is for you!
As a result of COVID-19, almost all the interactions you have with your students, alumni, colleagues, and donors are now through webcam in virtual meetings. Environmental factors such as poor lighting and background movement can become distractions and have implications on the level of engagement and potential for relationship building. Your body language and eye contact play an important role too as they can either facilitate meaningful communication or hinder it. Join us online for an interactive training where you will learn best practices for creating a professional and engaging persona during a video call. Our expert instructor will demonstrate simple tips and strategies for improving the quality of your physical surroundings and your presentation style during video calls. We will discuss how to: Place your laptop in the right position to maximize your lighting and appropriately frame yourself on screen Choose a background that does not offend or disturb others Reduce unnecessary movement to minimize distractions Maintain appropriate eye contact and body language that resonates with others online We have deliberately designed this training to go beyond the stock tips and strategies you’ll find online. You will have the opportunity to turn on your camera so that you can […]
Mike is an executive coach and higher education leader with a focus in group dynamics, interpersonal communication, leadership, and second career development. Three questions inspire Mike’s work as a coach: What brings you joy? What are you good at? What does the world need you to be? Mike’s professional career has taken him in many different directions, but always with the same focus, on helping others to grow, change, and become better. As a faith community leader, spiritual director, learning coach, academic counselor, and now as an Assistant Dean for Faculty and Student Success at the MGH IHP in Boston, Mike has developed and honed deep listening skills, asking questions that both challenge and inspire, and he knows how to accompany a client on their unique journey without imposing his own agenda or needs. He is especially skilled in dealing with grief, change of career, LGBTQ+ leaders, and crisis leadership. His own work as a faculty member enables him to understand the unique challenges of faculty who may be torn between the demands of scholarship, teaching, and service, while struggling to meet home and personal concerns. Mike’s educational background includes an MDiv with coursework in counseling, philosophy, and psychology, a […]
Gender bias in higher education can lead us to prize men’s voices over women’s and to value authoritarian and transactional leadership over transformational, collaborative leadership. Yet collaboration is key to meeting the complex challenges our departments and institutions of higher education now face. So let’s explore: How best can men and women work together to develop this critical leadership trait that has traditionally been considered “feminine”? by Rosalind Spigel, Organizational Development Consultant and Leadership Coach, Spigel Consulting Previous articles in this series: In this series we are looking at leadership traits, how they are deployed and recognized differently for men and women, and how gender bias impedes women’s advancement within our colleges and universities. In this fourth article, we’ll take a close look at collaboration. We’ll examine: Why Collaboration is So Critical Remember that memo distributed by a now ex-employee of Google, criticizing diversity and defending the skewed percentage of male coders? After debunking the former employee’s false claim that men were inherently better coders for “biological” reasons, senior leaders at Google also argued that the coder “had fundamentally misunderstood what skills were needed…such as collaboration, creativity and teamwork” (Swinson, 2018, p. 332). While there are many differences between the Google campus and […]
The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study in the nineties taught us the prevalence of traumatic experience in society, as well as how trauma influences lifelong learning, health, and behavior. Researchers have found correlations between high ACEs scores (indicating more traumatic experience) and learning or behavior problems, lower grades, and a higher rate of academic failure. While mental health is not a new issue to higher education, the COVID-19 pandemic and other unprecedented events have significantly impacted college student mental health and stress levels. It has therefore become increasingly vital for faculty to understand the effects of trauma and stress on the minds and behaviors of students so that they can tailor their pedagogical approach to better meet their students’ needs. Join us for a virtual training where our expert speaker Heather Rist will walk you through the effect of trauma, how it presents in the classroom, and how to implement classroom management techniques to reduce the risk of re-traumatization. You will learn to identify the signs and symptoms of trauma, as well as how to calm someone experiencing heightened trauma symptoms and to then connect them with appropriate care and resources on campus.
Meeting campaign goals in this economy remains a challenge, and recent news emphasizes how few institutions are exceeding campaign goals this year (a very different story than in 2007-08). Many institutions are just barely meeting their goals: Pace University recently celebrated the close of a seven-year capital campaign with a $100 million goal; the amount raised: $101.1 million Carleton College closed a $300 million campaign last month; the amount raised: $300.4 million The Cygnus Donor Survey (pdf link) released this summer also speaks to the continuing reticence of major donors. In this philanthropic climate, how can institutional development officers plan an effective campaign? We turned to Jim Langley, founder and president of Langley Innovations, and past vice president of advancement at Georgetown University, for his advice on campaign strategies during the recession. Fundraising by Objective While it is common to invite funding to meet dollar goals for particular categories of institutional needs (e.g., financial aid, endowing faculty, programmatic initiatives), Langley suggests that in this philanthropic climate, it is essential to fundraise by objective, not by category: An example of funding a category: setting a dollar amount to raise for financial aid An example of funding a strategic objective: identifying an enrollment target, the number […]
NSSE’s 2009 annual report cites low participation in high-impact activities (such as study abroad, service learning, internship, undergraduate research, or senior experience) among transfer students as one measure of engagement and likely persistence. The lowest engagement was from vertical transfers (students who enter four-year institutions from community colleges). In the survey, 62% of native seniors had participated in internships, but only 43% of vertical transfers. Only 7% of vertical transfers participated in study abroad, compared with 20% among native students. Given the low numbers on engagement, we asked Kurt Thiede, vice president for enrollment management at Bucknell University, for his tips on engaging vertical transfer students early and fostering affinity for the institution from the first point of contact. Early Engagement The earlier the engagement, the more likely affinity becomes. Early engagement with prospective vertical transfers from two-year colleges can take a number of forms, from a campus visit day to a summer program. But whether you have the funding for a visit day or a summer program, it is critical to think through what to include in that experience. You will want to expose students to all aspects of life at the university — the career offices, financial aid, academic advising, […]
Experienced chief development officers know that budgeting and staff planning must take into consideration agreed-upon fundraising priorities and goals. We also know that fundraising plays a role in achieving the campus leader’s overall strategic vision. Since most campaigns or projects require more than one year to complete, budgeting and planning beyond a year at a time makes sense. Why don’t we actually do this? So, if we believe this works best, then why don’t we do it? Or, if we try, what gets in the way of following through on a longer-term approach? Has any of the following ever happened to you? You secured input from your team of fundraisers and written approval from the campus leader on your five-year plan and then: Given these common pitfalls, can we really commit to longer-term planning? I believe we can. But I have found that doing so requires communication, execution, focus and flexibility. Communication and relationship-building are the keys to the success of any development operation. We know this to be true when relating to our donors and other external constituents. Do we value it and demonstrate it internally within our organizations, especially during our planning process and execution? Ask yourself the following questions: […]
SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION SERIES The US Department of Education has awarded multi-million dollar “First in the World” grants to 24 colleges and universities that are innovating to solve critical challenges with access, recruitment, retention, and student success. At AI, we have interviewed each of the recipients to learn more about the projects these institutions are pursuing, how their approaches are unique, and what other colleges and universities can learn from these new efforts. Although the State University of New York at Oswego already has a strong collaboration with area community colleges, SUNY Oswego has noticed a gap in the number of students moving from two-year to four-year schools. In this north-central region of New York, three community colleges and a community organization partnered with SUNY Oswego to narrow that gap. Their goals are to increase retention and completion rates both two-year and four-year institutions, encourage more students to transfer to a four-year institution and complete a bachelor’s degree, and strengthen regional economic development in the process. The hope is that this model will provide a sustainable example of how collaboration, aligned coursework and community support can improve degree attainment on multiple levels. The Transfer Gateways and Completion Program Leaders at […]
50 Conversations to Have with Sophia — Preview Your AI Leadership Coach for Higher Education Sophia is designed to meet you where you are and support you through the complexity of leading in higher education, where all of us have more responsibility than authority. She works best when you’re specific. The more honest you are with Sophia, the better she’ll be. Sophia does not store your responses. Nothing you share is logged, tracked, or traceable back to you. This is a completely confidential space. You can bring the real situation, not the polished version. To access Sophia, log into your Academic Impressions membership, and go to My Path. Chat with Sophia Feel free to modify these prompts to suit your context. Tap Copy on any prompt below, then paste it into Sophia to get started. Navigating Difficult People & Relationships Team Dynamics & Culture Leading Change Communication & Influence Career Development & Self-Awareness Managing Up & Sideways Faculty Relations & Shared Governance Personal Leadership & Well-Being Strategy & Organizational Effectiveness Navigating Difficult People & Relationships I have a tenured faculty member who openly undermines me in meetings — eye rolls, sighing, challenging my credibility in front of others. I’ve avoided […]
