CASE Encourages Advancement Professionals at Schools, Colleges and Universities to Adopt a Culture of Zero Tolerance
NEW YORK CITY —The Council for Advancement and Support of Education announced Tuesday a commitment to raise awareness of sexual harassment issues in the advancement profession and encouraged its nearly 3,700 members to adopt a culture of zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior.
During a key session at the 2018 Summit for Leaders in Advancement in New York, President and CEO Sue Cunningham led a distinguished panel of senior leaders in a discussion on creating a culture of zero tolerance and how leaders of colleges, universities and schools can create a safe environment and educate their colleagues and volunteers.
The panel consisted of Mary Sue Coleman, president of the Association of American Universities; Jim Harris, president of the University of San Diego and chair of the CASE Board of Trustees; Donna Arbide, vice president of development and alumni relations at George Washington University; and Peter Hayashida, vice chancellor, university advancement at the University of California, Riverside and president of the UC Riverside Foundation.
Prior to the panel discussion, CASE showed a short video of advancement practitioners sharing their stories.
"We in the advancement professions know that this issue is all too present" says Cunningham. "We are taking this step - adopting a pledge for leaders who work to advance education - in order to bring attention to the issue and to act as leaders to do everything in our power to ensure staff and institution volunteers do their important work in a safe and productive environment."
"Whenever I hear or read something in the news about an incident at an institution, I immediately think of my (advancement) colleagues on the front lines," said Cunningham. "My other reaction is to think about the victims in the situation, and what could have been done to protect them, if only. We as leaders must eliminate the need to say "if only" and change that to" because of what we did, we prevented the possibility of harassment occurring, and if it did occur, we redressed it immediately."
As part of the #MeToo: Creating a Culture of Zero Tolerance key session, CASE released a pledge it had developed with guidance from senior advancement leaders and encouraged conference attendees to adopt the pledge and make it part of their working environments. CASE plans to continue the discussion on the topic at various events throughout the year.
About CASE
CASE—the Council for Advancement and Support of Education—is a global, not-for-profit membership association with a vision to advance education to transform lives and society.
CASE is the home for advancement professionals, inspiring, challenging, and equipping them to act effectively and with integrity to champion the success of their institutions. CASE defines the competencies and standards for the profession of advancement, leading, and championing their dissemination and application with more than 97,000 advancement professionals at 3,100 member institutions in 80 countries.
Broad and growing communities of professionals gather under the global CASE umbrella. Currently these include alumni relations, development services, communications, fundraising, government relations, and marketing. These professionals are at all stages of their careers and may be working in universities, schools, colleges, cultural institutions, or other not-for-profits. CASE uses the intellectual capital and professional talents of a community of international volunteers to advance its work, and its membership includes many educational partners who work closely with the educational sector.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., CASE works across all continents from its regional offices in London, Singapore, and Mexico City to achieve a seamless experience for all its stakeholders, particularly its members, volunteers, and staff.
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