Learn how to develop successful strategies for opening doors for increased engagement within organizations that employ large numbers of alumni. Discuss best practices that can identify new alumni leaders for increased involvement with your institution. Explore an array of partnership opportunities between your institution and these organizations. By using a consultative best-practice approach, you'll be able to build that bridge between companies and your institution for increased individual and corporate engagement/philanthropy, while driving home the importance of true collaboration.

How did a small comprehensive college increase their social media profile visits by 130% and their engagement rates by 45% in one semester? State University of New York at Old Westbury gave its students--past, present, and future -the chance to hear the authentic voices of their peers through a student takeover program on social media. We've all heard the nightmares of how this can go. Learn the steps, missteps, and lessons learned from a school that successfully ran this type of hands off social media campaign.

Launching a brand is not a departmental function. It is an institutional movement. How do communications professionals gain support and ownership for brand management from all university stakeholders, internally and externally? Consider new and different strategies designed to develop a strong brand that not only withstands institutional challenges, but also becomes stronger as the organization changes and grows. Through a combination of theory and practice, lessons learned from failed launches become the foundation for successful brands owned by the university, not just the marketing department.

This program is designed to address the realities of living and working in an increasingly global society where understanding other cultures is often an essential component of organizational success. Participants are encouraged to explore their feelings and perceptions about non-U.S. cultures in an effort to develop effective strategies to promote intercultural awareness and acceptance. This session is the first in a series on developing intercultural competence and focuses on awareness of personal cultural lenses.

Higher education communications needs a “mixed-method” approach to strategic communications and content planning that brings together the best of public relations strategies with the best marketing strategies. This approach allows communication teams to make informed decisions while communicating purposefully with its varied audiences. The goal for communications professionals should be to make data-supported (not just data-driven) decisions in order to deliver personalized, honest, and altruistic content to which audiences can personally relate and use to make their own informed decisions.

Chief executives at universities, independent schools, nonprofits, and other organizations are busy and face many demands on their time. While development is a key area where executives should focus, effectively using his/her time is critical in order to maximize impact. Setting parameters for who your chief executive should be spending time with-- and what they should be doing with that time--will maximize results.

Villanova University’s strategic plan outlines a priority in supporting vocational success of alumni. In order to bolster engagement for alumni professionals across the world, Alumni Relations partnered with the Career Center to create a month of programming dedicated to professional development for all career levels. "Nova Network November" offered 30+ events ranging from regional networking gatherings to webinars led by campus experts on topics tied back to the university’s priorities. Review our step-by-step approach to gain university support and leverage regional clubs and campus leadership alike.

You've got great stories to tell. Now you have to decide which outlets are best to get the most eyeballs on them. This session serves as a practical how-to guide for getting the most out of your great stories. During this workshop you'll be working toward creating a checklist that will simplify your team's ability to maximize sharing your good news.

Transitioning to a new president, provost, or dean poses unique challenges – yet change can be positive. With change comes opportunity to revisit institutional goals and priorities, to reinforce positive outcomes from outgoing leadership, and to refresh your institution’s mission and vision. How can we leverage leadership changes to further fundraising goals? How do we navigate the challenges that arise when the transition happens in the middle of a campaign? Explore strategies and best practices for maximizing leadership transitions to establish a sustainable future for our institutions.

As university fundraisers, we work with highly diverse donor populations that are both multicultural and global, and philanthropy may be interpreted in varying ways. Donor values are driven by life experiences that shape their individual and unique perspective. To understand the impact of those experiences and how they impact giving and engagement, we need to examine our own assumptions, inherent biases, and apply best practices in order to uncover donor motivation. Discuss strategies to discover donor perspectives illustrated with actual donor situations.