The Council for Advancement and Support of Education has announced Clark Cropp, senior vice president at the Kansas University Endowment Association and Michael J. Morsberger, chief executive officer of the University of Central Florida Foundation as the recipients of the 2020 CASE Commonfund College and University Foundation Award. The award recognizes individuals who have made valuable contributions through best practices, distinguished service and leadership.

Both men possess more than 30 years of experience in the advancement field and stand out for their ability to lead by example.

Cropp began his career at KU Endowment as assistant director of gift planning in 1987. He became director of gift planning in 1990. During his directorship, he developed comprehensive financial output reports from design to documentation. He wrote KU Endowment’s original gift overview booklet, initiated and designed new financial reports for charitable remainder trust donors and beneficiaries, and developed the Elizabeth Watkins deferred gift recognition society.

In his current role, which he has held since 1995, Cropp oversees the administration division and is responsible for gift usage compliance and financial reporting, document imaging, human resources, student loans and scholarship administration functions at KU Endowment.

“His dedication and professionalism have reflected very positively on the role of The Kansas University Endowment Association in its service to the University of Kansas,” said Dale Seuferling, president at KU Endowment Association. “He has consistently implemented new and ongoing successful policies and procedures to serve not only KU Endowment and the University of Kansas, but to be shared with other partners in the field of college and university foundations.”

Morsberger came to the UCF Foundation in 2015, where he oversees management of a $175M endowment and a diverse portfolio of assets. When Morsberger arrived at UCF, after leading development teams at five major universities – public and private, the university was in the fourth year of its most comprehensive capital campaign, with a goal of $500 million. Morsberger reorganized and united the advancement team, led Foundation board members to deepen their commitments to the university and created a culture of giving that continues today. The campaign successfully closed in 2019 with over $531.5 million raised in gifts and commitments and a new downtown campus built with philanthropic, university and state funds.

“We are fortunate to have someone with Mike’s experience and commitment leading UCF’s philanthropic efforts, which help us transform lives and create a better society. The results of his hard work can be seen everywhere: a robust donor base, an engaged Foundation board and a university with an established and increasing capacity to raise funds that enable us to be one of America’s leading metropolitan research universities,” said Dr. Alexander N. Cartwright, president of UCF.

Both Cropp and Morsberger are active members of CASE and have spoken at numerous CASE conferences.

The awards are underwritten by the Commonfund Institute, the research and education arm of Commonfund, which provides investment management services to nonprofit organizations.