Bob Dylan was not singing about higher education when he sang “the times they are a changin’,” but indeed many universities nationwide are experiencing an era of challenge and change. Our relatively small school at the flagship university in Colorado has experienced significant change over the past year-plus — from deanship transitions to sweeping budget and organizational change. These changes have led us to pivot and evaluate our communications strategies in real time while we attempt to remain true to our mission and center community-building among faculty, staff, students, and supporters. We don’t have all the answers, but we know we are not the only ones interested in exploring inclusive and transparent communications strategies during times of change and processing our emotions as staff leaders. In this interactive session, we will work through lessons learned around change management in our school as we explore case studies together about budget constraints, political scrutiny, leadership transitions, humanizing change management, and more.

We all know that culture can eat strategy for lunch, but how do you turn a feeding frenzy into feeding to fuel? Leaders of MSU Denver’s Advancement division undertook a multi-year initiative based on Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead curriculum to transform their staff culture that was challenged by lack of accountability, staff turnover, and underperforming productivity. Starting with an assessment of staff and organizational culture they went through a yearlong program followed by self-developed practices that have transformed their organizational culture and become a model for the rest of the university. These changes have resulted in a quadrupling of fundraising outcomes, staff feedback that they have grown professionally and personally, career advancement for many, and the attraction of top talent. This session will share their process and provide insights on fostering a healthy staff culture that will feed your strategy not serve it for lunch.