Over the past 18 months, court decisions and public policy has drastically changed how higher education can approach DEIB. While academicians and student affairs personnel prepare for their work, advancement practitioners face our own unique challenges. This workshop is designed for all members of an advancement organization – from alumni engagement to development to Marketing and Communications. Participants will be taken through a framework that will allow them to examine their own organizations’ readiness to be nimble in this contemporary environment, ultimately to support a culture that will keep all stakeholders engaged. Additionally, participants will come away with tools to structure DEIB work in a way that is mission-centric and supportive of all communities.

The events of 2020 offered a time for unprecedented reflection and action to move the needle on becoming a just, equitable, and inclusive society. Amid, and perhaps sparked by the global crises, the University of Cincinnati Foundation assessed its workplace practices and culture through an equity and inclusion lens. This deep self-reflection led to a journey to examine who we were and what was the aspirational goal of who we wanted to become. Since those initial discussions, this has been a journey of learning who were and were not; focusing on what it means to create incremental change of a true reflection of who we aspire to be as a whole organization serving all of humanity. This journey has allowed us to look holistically at how we will best embrace the UC community. In this session, we will discuss the comprehensive “inside-out” approach we designed and delivered to deepen equity and inclusion within the Foundation and with our alumni engagement strategy, constituent base, donor and friends pipeline, and all potential stakeholders willing to join us as we embrace the power of philanthropy. We will share our best and next practices and our challenges.

The Enrollment Cliff. Rising costs. Soaring student debt. High-paying jobs that don’t require a degree. Political inference. Declining public trust and value perception. It’s easy to list the many challenges facing higher education, but what role do we as advancement professionals play in overcoming them? Join us to hear about and share examples of how advancement teams have leveraged their alumni, donors, communication platforms, and philanthropic resources to help their institutions meet today’s challenges head-on.

With higher education facing uncertain changes, universities are making bold decisions in attempts to stay relevant and up to date to provide current and future students with the best academic careers possible. Some of these changes may be controversial and spark emotions from it’s alumni. Hear about how Emporia State University and the ESU Alumni Association faced adversity while continuing to emphasize alumni relationships and engagement.