President's Perspective: A Focus on Joy
In addition to celebrating CASE's 50th anniversary this year, we are at the five-year mark of CASE’s membership vote to approve our new governance model. Designing the new model involved two years of ideation, modelling, and broad engagement with members of our dedicated volunteer community. My recent interactions at our association’s convenings have led me to reflect on our progress since that time.
I have been inspired at recent meetings with the CASE Regional Councils and District Cabinets. These advisory groups’ members bring their best thinking to our conversations on how we at CASE can better serve advancement professionals in various regions. The District Chairs Council (comprised of the Chair and Vice Chair from each of our eight U.S. and Canada districts, and three districts in Europe) engages in thoughtful conversations about how we can best connect with and serve our membership. Volunteers’ different regional and national contexts provide a wealth of perspectives and experiences. There is not one cookie-cutter approach for success, across institution type and geography. There is, however, a deep culture of sharing and of curiosity in advancement.
From the seeds planted in our governance redesign, we are seeing many green shoots. The alignment created by the new structures has created stronger connectivity and relationships. One example of the magic of connectivity began on a bus journey I took last year in Valencia, Spain. I was in this beautiful city thanks to our partnership with Santander Universia and its kind invitation to join the 5th Universia International Rectors’ Summit. On a bus ride between venues, I sat beside Andy Rich, Dean of the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at The City College of New York, U.S. We discussed the importance of building diversity in our work, and I introduced Andy to our CASE Opportunity and Inclusion Center and our Advancement Internship Program. As a result of this conversation and much interaction thereafter, the Colin Powell School has signed up its first group of 10 graduates to participate in CASE’s internship program this summer. The brokering of this new relationship, and the lives it will benefit for years to come, illustrates the joy that comes from being in this global community.
Joy is a profound motivator. Barbara Altmann, one of our trustees and President of Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S., recently shared that F&M has placed joy in the institution’s strategic plan. One of its five goals is: “Empower students to engage in an inclusive and joyful community.”
We reflected on joy at a CASE Board of Trustees meeting in March generously hosted at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S., by Board Chair Sergio Gonzalez. Despite the myriad of headwinds for our sector, there is deep joy in the work of championing our institutions. I heard this at our board meeting and in nearly every conversation I have or conference I attend. In fact, at some of our recent CASE conferences, we polled advancement leaders about job satisfaction. The vast majority responded that they are either satisfied or highly satisfied with their roles. They say meaningful work with a sense of purpose drives this satisfaction.
It brings me joy when I witness the drive and dedication of all those who work to advance education to transform lives and society. I look forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming conferences, including the CASE Summit for Advancement Leaders in New York City, U.S., in July, and the CASE Europe Annual Conference in Manchester, U.K., in August. Having just been to the Asia-Pacific Advancement Conference in Singapore and the Congreso in Ensenada, Mexico, I am buoyed by the spirit of this community and the passion evident in those who work to advance education around the globe.
Happy CASE at 50!
About the author(s)
Sue Cunningham is President and CEO of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), which supports over 3,000 schools, colleges and universities worldwide in developing their integrated advancement work (alumni relations, communications, fundraising and marketing operations). As CASE President and CEO, Ms. Cunningham provides strategic and operational leadership for one of the largest associations of education-related institutions in the world with members in over 80 countries. She started her leadership role at CASE in March 2015.
While at CASE, Ms. Cunningham has engaged CASE in two strategic planning processes. The first, which engaged thousands of CASE volunteers, resulted in Reimagining CASE: 2017-2021, and created an ambitious framework for serving CASE’s members and championing education worldwide, which included a comprehensive restructure of CASE’s volunteer leadership and governance structure. Building on the strengths of this plan, she led a recalibration exercise that resulted in Championing Advancement: CASE 2022-2027. This Plan articulates a clear strategic intent: that CASE will define the competencies and standards for the profession of advancement, and lead and champion their dissemination and application across the world’s educational institutions.
Among the key initiatives that have developed under her leadership include the redesign and delivery of a new global governance structure. In addition, CASE acquired the Voluntary Support of Education survey and created CASE’s Insights, CASE’s global research and data efforts. CASE published the first global and digital edition of CASE’s Global Reporting Standards and Guidelines, which operate as the industry-leading Standards for the profession, and launched the first global Alumni Engagement survey in addition to annual fundraising surveys. CASE created an ambitious competencies model across all advancement disciplines and a related career journey framework; opened the CASE Opportunities and Inclusion Center which focuses on equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging; and has reinvigorated a global advocacy agenda to communicate the value of education. Ms. Cunningham serves as a Trustee and Secretary for the University of San Diego, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board. She is a member of the Signature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia) Board of Directors, Chairs their Governance Committee, and sits on the Executive Committee. She is a member of the Washington Higher Education Secretariat steering committee, the International Association of University Presidents Executive Committee, and the International Women’s Forum. She has recently been named to the new, US-based Council of Higher Education as a Strategic Asset. She is the author of ‘Global Exchange: Dialogues to Advance Education’.
Prior to her appointment to CASE, Ms. Cunningham served as Vice-Principal for Advancement at the University of Melbourne where she led the Believe campaign resulting in surpassing its original $500 million goal; and the Director of Development for the University of Oxford where she led the development team through the first phase of the largest fundraising campaign outside of the United States (at the time): Oxford Thinking, with a goal of £1.25 billion. She served as Director of Development at Christ Church, Oxford and as Director of External Relations at St. Andrews University.
Before working in education, Ms. Cunningham enjoyed a career in theatre, the arts and the cultural sector. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In 2012, Ms. Cunningham received the CASE Europe Distinguished Service Award, and has received the coveted CASE Crystal Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. Ms. Cunningham was awarded a master’s degree from the University of Oxford, a bachelor’s degree in performing arts from Middlesex University, and is a graduate of the Columbia University Senior Executive Program.
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Article appears in:
May-June 2024 Issue of Currents
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