8:00–8:30 AM Conference Check-In and Breakfast Welcome to St. Petersburg! Please stop by the registration desk starting at 8:00 a.m. to check in and pick up your conference materials. Breakfast will be served.
8:30–9:30 Welcome and Orientation Join chair Paul Rucker and fellow Bootcamp faculty to discuss and explore how to get the most out of your time at this 2 ½ day conference. Designed to help new advancement leaders understand and navigate the increasingly complex territory of Advancement, both internally and externally, the topics covered will give participants an intensive and interactive experience on the fundamentals and major issues facing advancement leaders – all facilitated in a fun, safe and engaging environment. Come prepared to learn from fellow participants in a collaborative cohort environment as well as an experienced faculty leadership team and dynamic guest speakers.
9:30–10:45 Exploring the Role and Responsibilities of a Vice President As institutional demands on advancement increase, the competencies required of a VP expand. Indeed, in many nonprofit organizations today, excellence in frontline engagement and fundraising work, and expertise in program management, are just a small part of what is required of the successful chief advancement officer. This session will explore competencies of today's successful VP, as identified by presidents and leading senior advancement officers across the country.
11 AM–12:15 PM The Periscope and the Microscope: Mapping Higher Education and Institutional Landscapes This is a dynamic and critical time for higher education and its leaders. While access, innovation and impact have never been greater, underlying skepticism of the value proposition of post-secondary education and declining public trust remain persistent across the sector, particularly as political divisiveness penetrates our colleges and universities. This conversation will explore national trends in higher education and the role advancement leaders have in ensuring higher education’s continued relevance and impact.
12:15–1:15 Networking Lunch
1:15–2:30 Strategic Communications Tips for Vice Presidents Sometimes the best of intentions lead to negative consequences. Campus leaders are being asked to comment on hot-button topics, political issues and campus conflicts. When it comes to sensitive topics, what you say as vice president – or don’t say – can impact your institution and your career. This session will help you prepare for the unexpected and think through the psychology of requests and build a communications strategy that works for you.
3:00–4:15 We’re Stronger Together: Working with Governing Boards The role, impact and relationship of governing boards, whether elected or appointed, to senior advancement leaders cannot be overstated. As leaders new to our roles and/or institutions, inheriting key volunteer leadership communities provides tremendous opportunities for future change and innovation but is not without significant personal investment and risk. This conversation will explore the strategic relationship between advancement leaders and volunteer boards with a focus on change management and conflict communications in building a culture of engagement and inspiration.
4:15–5:00 Faculty Panel – Day 1 Review Bring your questions to this interactive session with faculty leadership where participants will have an opportunity further discuss concepts raised on the first day.
5:00–6:30 Networking Reception and Welcome Dinner Join conference faculty and your colleagues to network and unwind after the first day of the conference. Dinner and drinks will be provided.
6:00 Conference Adjourns for the Day Dinner on your own
8:00–9:00 AM Breakfast & Roundtable Conversations
9:0–10:15 Equity and Inclusion and the Role of Vice President
Advancement leaders’ capacity to authentically engage and demonstrate effectiveness in areas of equity and inclusion profoundly impact their organization’s ability to fulfill its mission and vision. Expectations for cultural competence, successful engagement of underrepresented communities and navigating challenges of social justice are often areas of vulnerability for higher education leaders. President Lange will discuss the VP's role in fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity and inclusion, including offering specific recommendations for personal, organizational and institutional effectiveness.
10:30–11:45 Dollars and Sense – Making the CASE for Expanded Resources While the relationship with your President is the most important, the second most important relationship for the vice president is the relationship with your chief financial officer. An effective vice president must understand the finances and how they work. Partnering with the CFO is essential in making the case for the strategic deployment of resources and the understanding of the ROI on those resources. This session will explore key questions to ask, tactics to employ and strategies to implement to assist in developing this essential and important relationship.
11:45 AM –12:45 PM Networking Lunch
12:45–2:00 A Vice President’s Relationship to the Academy and Cabinet Successfully navigating the relationship to key institutional leaders – presidents, provosts, cabinet members, faculty leaders – is fundamental to the success of the Advancement leader. CASE President and CEO Sue Cunningham will moderate a conversation with guests from the University of Florida which will explore key strategies for substantively and effectively engaging institutional leadership as partners in support of the comprehensive work of Advancement, including goal setting, ownership of outcomes and celebrating shared success.
2:15–3:30 Measurement Matters: Aligning Advancement Metrics with Institutional Priorities and Impact
Transformational advancement programs must strategically and thoughtfully align philanthropy, marketing/communications and alumni relations programs and metrics with institutional priorities. Without effective and efficient organizational integration, advancement leaders often fail to optimize institutional impact. This conversation will explore effective strategies for achieving organizational and institutional alignment and shared development of key performance metrics.
3:45–5:00 Survival skills for the new VP: The Role and Impact of an Executive Coach
You’ve likely heard about executive coaches, maybe you’ve been lucky enough to have one, but if you haven’t you may be thinking that hiring an executive coach signals that you aren’t ready for the job. That is certainly what many think when an executive coach is recommended. Why is one needed? Is my supervisor sending me a message? Do I have areas where I need to improve? This session will explore the value and benefit of a coach and how to get the most out of the opportunity a coach can offer.
5:00–5:45 Faculty Panel – Day 2 Review Continue conversations started over the first two days in this interactive panel session with faculty leadership and fellow attendees.
5:45 Conference Adjourns for the Day Dinner on your own
8:00–9:00 AM Breakfast & Roundtable Conversations
9:00–10:45 Partners for Success: Managing and Optimizing External Advancement Consultants External Advancement consultants contribute vital and innovative thought leadership to the profession and often have longstanding relationships to our institutions and executive leadership. This conversation – featuring three leading consultancies in executive search, campaign counsel and technology – will explore the important role they have at our institutions and strategies for vice presidents to select, navigate and optimize their value and impact.
11:00 AM–NOON Insights and Lessons Learned from the Boot Camp for New Vice Presidents Experience
Join conference faculty for an interactive closing session designed to help attendees reflect on their boot camp experience and discuss next steps to consider when they return to campus. Plenty of opportunity for Q&A will be provided.