New fundraisers, whether new to the profession entirely, new to your organization, or new to a discipline or role, can feel like they don't receive enough guidance, direction, and onboarding from their supervisors, mentors, and peers. This session provides practical, clearly defined suggestions for setting up your new fundraisers for success from Day 1! Learn the most important elements of onboarding a new staff member to ensure that they understand your organization and their role.

Since 2022, the University of Michigan Medical School Communications Community of Practice (CoP) has been successfully navigating the collaboration and support of more than 90 unit-embedded communicators to develop partnerships, ensure access to resources, and embolden a unified voice, brand, and message across the Michigan Medicine landscape. In this presentation, we will use this case study to define a CoP, discuss the challenges of start-up, and walk through the steps toward implementation, success, and lessons learned. Participants will take away practical steps and resources for building a Community of Practice, methodology for connecting your community to the larger centralized communications core, and ideas for scaling communities to all sizes of teams.

Alumni crave meaningful engagement with their alma mater, and colleges are trying to reimagine how they engage alumni in new ways and continue to add value to alumni lives well beyond graduation. Join us for this panel discussion featuring two different institutions of different sizes for a conversation about strategies for successfully engaging alumni in initiatives across the lifespan. Specifically, we will discuss: affinity-based programming and research, career-focused alumni programming, virtual programming, and the use of data to support and assess this work.

Alumni Engagement and Community Partners share common values and goals when it comes to building lasting and life-long relationships with their stakeholders not only on campus but also in the surrounding community. Targeted events that foster a sense of "togetherness" and "community" are imperative to smaller towns that thrive on the impact that the students provide during their time at our university.
Finding our niche and standing out with admissions and recruitment visits has been instrumental since the development of these new community centered events. Come listen to how we have been ranked #1 in the state of Minnesota for the Best Game Day Atmosphere the past few years.
Through this presentation, you will hear how one institution takes a new approach to community centered events, has grown them into highly anticipated events for the entire community, and the economic impact that it has brought to the city, along with the excitement and buzz that started in 2017 and continues to grow each year.

During the University of Chicago's Alumni Weekend in May 2024 there were at least 13 unique incidents of student, community, and alumni protest. Actions ranged from chalking, handing out pamphlets, disrupting events, occupying buildings, and damaging equipment.

Our campus, as so many others, had been home to an encampment on the main quads, just weeks before 2,500 attendees arrived for Alumni Weekend and Reunion events. The University of Chicago's commitment to free expression required the UChicago Alumni office to create a contingency plan that accounted for anticipated disruption, while abiding by the Chicago Principles.

Join us to review the Chicago Principles of Free Expression and the components of the Alumni Weekend contingency plan, constructed to include stakeholders across the University and beyond. Materials reviewed will include scripts to aid staff during events which are being disrupted, large scale protest plans, training materials for all staff volunteers, and the code of conduct for alumni participants. Session will review case studies using actual protests from the weekend and lessons learned.

For ten years at Purdue University, the University Residences program has brought successful alumni back to campus where they live among students for one week. Our program’s alumni, referred to as executives, provide students with opportunities to interact with fellow Boilermakers around their areas of expertise and interests in formal and informal settings – from lecture halls to residence halls and dining courts to basketball courts. The hallmarks of our program are small group and one-on-one interactions. Since the fall of 2014, over fifty executives have returned home to our residence halls and gifted our community their time and talents. Our Executive in Residences (EiR) program includes a campus learning community, student ambassador program, a full-time live-in Executive in Residence, and both fall and spring break trips, where student travel to visit executives in their homes and workplaces, connecting our university’s past to the present.

Kent State University's legacy of the May 4, 1970 tragedy remains pivotal in its identity. As history recently seemed to repeat itself on American campuses amidst current societal divisions, Kent State has proactively integrated powerful lessons from its past into its brand messaging. This session reveals how the university's half-century journey of embracing its history informs its current marketing strategies. Discover how authenticity and values-driven storytelling can elevate your institution's brand beyond conventional marketing approaches.

This session will focus on strategies for building and sustaining affinity networks that foster community, amplify alumni voices, and increase engagement across diverse demographics. Participants will explore how to align affinity networks with the institution's goals while ensuring they foster a culture of inclusion and belonging.

How can you elevate cherished alumni traditions and allow room for fresh experiences? Learn how Denison University reimagined its reunion experience with enhanced technology, fresh programming, and record-breaking participation. Explore how Macalester College brought its 150th anniversary to life, connecting a global alumni base with fresh twists on existing programming, new ways of storytelling, and ample opportunities to celebrate. Join us to learn about the process from concept creation through execution including planning, communication, events, and more. You’ll walk away with actionable insights and ideas to help you transform your own campus events into unforgettable celebrations.

Imposter syndrome is the buzziest of buzzwords. From seasoned professionals with 30+ years in the advancement field to new grads, we often find ourselves struggling to find true confidence and certainty in who we show up to be in the workplace. Targeted towards those new to the field or new to post-grad life, this session will dive into what imposter syndrome is, how it is extraordinarily prevalent AND relevant in the advancement field, and what we can do to navigate the ebbs and flows of feeling "good enough". This session is structured to be a vulnerable conversation about self-worth and value as a professional; while also discussing ways we can find confidence in who we are, even if we don't completely have it figured out.