Student protests. Conflicts with donors over priorities. Legislative actions to curb academic freedoms. Nightly reports on censored speech at campuses across the country. If higher education is a bellwether for the issues facing broader American civil society, it can feel as though we are standing on the precipice of division and separation that will soon be impossible to bridge. New pluralism offers one pathway forward to healing our divisions and moving forward in a vibrant multiracial, multigenerational, multifaith democracy (and university!). The New Pluralists Funders Collaborative represents a shared belief, across ideological views, in the value of difference as an essential feature of a healthy democracy, strong university, and effective philanthropy. In this panel session, leaders from the Hewlett Foundation and Stand Together, in conversation with the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, will define pluralism, share the origin story of the New Pluralists as an example of bridging, and give examples of pluralism shapes and is shaped by higher education.

There is a growing need for technology professionals in government, social service, and civil society organizations. These are sectors that have not traditionally been part of the global demand for technology talent, and this trend will strain the technology workforce. Universities are not yet prepared to meet this important need. In recent years, a number of funding organizations, including the Mastercard Impact Fund, Ford Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Schmidt Futures, Siegel Family Endowment, Raikes Foundation have jointly supported New America’s Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN), now comprising 55 universities across the United States and 4 global universities. The purpose of the group is to “grow a new generation of civic-minded technologists and digitally fluent policy leaders,” with the ultimate goal of addressing the inequalities that have come about as the result of technological change. At the same time, we are seeing a record amount of capital fueling the private tech industry as investments in emerging technology companies grow at a faster rate and with more generous early-stage seed funding than ever before. This wave of unprecedented investment promises to remake the infrastructure of how we live, work, and play over the coming decade. This wave should bring with it a wave of public and private funding from governments, corporations, and foundations to create a talent infrastructure to deliver on this growth. PIT-UN and its members are well positioned to leverage these funds in the service of initiatives and programs that are in the service of the greater good. Join our panel for an important conversation about the future of the nascent field of public interest technology and the role of the philanthropic sector in its emergence.

Have you ever tried mapping out the engagement of a corporation across your university? Have you looked foolish in front of your corporate prospect because you were unaware of their current engagement with your university? Are you building a new corporate relations team or corporate portfolio? Our presentation will help you build an effective corporate engagement matrix, mapping out where and how corporations are currently engaging your university. This session will provide a roadmap to discover what holistic corporate engagement means for your university, how to capture it, and how that data can be utilized to create forward-thinking partnerships. I

This panel conversation with our peers in CFR will talk about how they approached benchmarking, what they used it to accomplish, and what they'd do differently if they had it to do over. Panelists will also talk about the challenges of apples-to-apples comparisons, whether they be on FTEs or dollars in the door or gifts/grants from sources that don't disclose via tax returns. Panelists include Los Angeles's Mount Saint Mary's University, which has done benchmarking for institutional giving; U Michigan, which did a benchmarking with UM's research operations as well as development; and University of Washington, which has used varied approaches. Together, we will explore multiple ways of benchmarking, from informal calls for feedback among peers, to email surveys, to full-on data and interview-driven practices.