Dear CASE Colleagues,
The past few weeks have triggered a true roller-coaster of emotion: immense gratitude to the CASE Board Members and Commissioners who gathered last week, in person and virtually, to help CASE navigate this crisis; gratitude in marking my fifth anniversary as President & CEO; shock and deep sadness at the havoc caused by COVID-19 around the globe.
In the five years that it has been my delight and responsibility to lead this remarkable association. We have taken many bold steps: from our comprehensive rethinking and restructuring of our governance model; to the creation of AMAtlas and the purchase of the Voluntary Support of Education Survey in order to better serve our members through robust data, benchmarking and analytics.
Nothing, however, has risen to the level of concern engendered by this pandemic. With deep regret, CASE staff and volunteer leadership have already made the very hard decision to postpone or cancel a number of our signature events, including gatherings in Singapore, Boston, and Cartagena. All of these events had been the product of innovative thinking, intensive planning, and outright exuberance by scores of volunteers and members who step up to answer the question: “What does the advancement community need to know, and how can we deliver the necessary information and insights?”
Postponing or cancelling these gatherings—and considering how we might deliver the content in other ways—has taken nearly every waking moment of these past weeks. We have confronted the reality that this crisis profoundly impacts the very essence of the CASE experience—the CASE magic, the connection and spark between and among CASE members at in-person events. We can and will determine ways to deliver important, carefully crafted professional development opportunities for you and your teams, and we will work to generate this same level of interaction and enthusiasm in our virtual offerings. This interaction is CASE at its finest—CASE as a living, breathing entity—and we will find a way to continue to amplify those possibilities.
We also know that your institution’s communities are undergoing this same experience. The bonding, the inspiration, the love and affection among your communities is likely why you became an advancement professional—you help create life-changing experiences for your institution’s students, alumni, faculty and staff, donors and supporters. This is why I was drawn to the advancement profession: the true engagement of people who work together to achieve a common goal.
Like you, I am heartbroken by this unprecedented event in our lives, and yet I am buoyed by the strong leadership across our sector—from institutional leaders who have made extraordinary decisions to address this challenge, to researchers and health care practitioners from across education who serve at the forefront to help those in need.
As your institution and the world recover from the impact of coronavirus, CASE and its volunteers will continue to stand strong, rethinking our programmatic delivery methods and reinstituting the kinds of opportunities for learning and connection we know our members treasure. The postponement or cancellation of a conference creates only a momentary pause in our commitment to bring together intelligent and dedicated people to share their knowledge of emerging practices in advancement and celebrate the achievements of others.
We look forward to keeping you updated over the coming weeks and welcome, as always, your engagement and outreach. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me at president@case.org with thoughts on what CASE might provide that would be of greatest value to you at this time. We are here to serve you, as a member of CASE, who gets up every day to advance education to transform lives and society. We will do our utmost to respond.
With warmest regards and deepest respect,
Sue Cunningham
President and CEO
Council for Advancement and Support of Education