Dear CASE Colleagues,

Every day, I am heartened by the incredible outpouring of support and encouragement that we receive from our members:

• Thank you! CASE serves as a valuable resource to us now more than ever, as CASE Communities, free webinars, the Library, and more will be utilized to access best practices and facilitate conversations with colleagues around the world.
  
  Western University of Health Sciences
• Times of disruption are incredibly difficult, but also lead to incredible innovation. The connections this organization fosters are a core strength of my professional life that allows me to add context on my campus in a way that would not have happened without CASE.
  
  Brookstone School
• It truly is the strangest of times. Good luck to you and the whole team. Stay safe and healthy and keep the positive vibes coming our way!
  
  American School of Paris

Around the world, educational institutions are rallying to meet the unprecedented challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic. And CASE members are working around the clock to help their schools, colleges, or universities confront these issues and move towards a sustainable future. CASE staff and volunteers have shown their nimbility—one of my favorite new words—by launching CASE ToGather community conversations in all our regions, building out CASE xChange (“Advancing education one podcast at a time”), and converting 10 in-person conferences to online formats to be delivered in May and June. At the same time, we are pursuing organisational adjustments to ensure our fiscal sustainability, provide for the well-being of our staff, and provide even more value to members.

In the midst of this, there has been an encouraging shift in public discourse. Recently, negative perception of the education sector was paramount, but when schools closed and classes were shifted online, the tone changed. Students bemoaned the in-person interaction they have lost. Parents emphasized, that whilst impressed by the speed with which educational institutions have established online teaching, the virtual alternatives do not wholly match up to the traditional model.

The full richness of the educational experience—from arts and culture in schools, to study abroad programs, to collaborative seminars, to conversations in the coffee shop, to the excitement of athletic competition, to the welcome grandeur of commencement/graduation ceremonies—is suddenly being appreciated in a new light. Not to mention the unavoidable fact that educational institutions house the research laboratories and educate the skilled professionals that are our bulwark against the rising tide of coronavirus.

The pandemic proves that education matters—deeply, substantively, globally.

I have never been more proud to be part of this vital, focused, and effective family that comprises the advancement professions, working to advance education to transform lives and society. Thanks to each and every one of you for all that you do and for your deep support for your CASE at this time. I am immensely grateful for it. 

With warm appreciation,

Sue Cunningham

President and CEO

Council for Advancement and Support of Education