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    CASE President and CEO Sue Cunningham

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    Sue Cunningham

    SUE CUNNINGHAM
    President and CEO of CASE
    @CunninghamCASE

    Credit: Sean Sime

    CASE has been a mainstay throughout my professional life, providing the beacon for my career and community. I have valued immensely the ethos of freely sharing knowledge by all who are working to advance education.

    Through CASE, I developed a lifelong network of colleagues and friends and benefited enormously from my volunteer work. In turn, the opportunities created by CASE have benefited the universities I have had the privilege of working for, including St. Andrews, Oxford and Melbourne.

    CASE is all about opportunities, which is why I am privileged to have been given the opportunity to lead this important global organization.

    As president and CEO, I intend to build upon CASE's strong tradition of providing top-flight products and services to our members while also fostering stronger connections and learning between people working to advance education throughout the world.

    We are doing that by "Reimagining CASE," an ambitious five-year plan to advance specific goals in the areas of Member Engagement, Talent Management, Global Impact and Thought Leadership. I welcome your thoughts and ideas on how we can continue to meet your professional development needs.

    Why is our work—your work—so important? Because education is the key to tackling the myriad challenges that our society faces.

    Whether you are in alumni relations, advancement services, a campus administrator, a social media manager, a fundraiser or a marketing/communications professional, we all have the same mission: advancing education to transform lives and society.

    This makes your work really really important, and it is work that we are privileged and humbled to support. Thank you for all that you do to advance education to transform lives and society.

    Sue Cunningham
    President and CEO
    [email protected]

    "Rankings Must Reconsider Alumni Giving Rates" - Inside Higher Ed, Sep. 17, 2018

    "Claiming Our Story: The Importance of Higher Education to Transform Lives and Society" - Higher Education Today, Mar. 9, 2018

    Messages from Sue

    6 August 2020 Video Message16 June 20202 June 2020 - We Will Not Forget7 May 2020 Video Message23 April 202017 April 2020 Video Message9 April 20203 April 2020 Video Message
    See all Sue's messages

    Sue Cunningham, Biography Information

    Sue Cunningham is president and CEO of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), which supports over 3,700 schools, colleges and universities worldwide in developing their 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 became president of CASE in March, 2015.

    While at CASE, Ms. Cunningham engaged CASE and thousands of its volunteers in a comprehensive strategic planning process resulting in Reimagining CASE: 2017- 2021, an ambitious and comprehensive framework for serving CASE's members and championing education worldwide. This volunteer and member engagement extends into a comprehensive effort to refine CASE's governance structure to more effectively support CASE's global reach and service to members.

    Among the key initiatives that have developed under her leadership include the recent acquisition of the Voluntary Support of Education survey and the development of AMAtlas; a reinvigorated advocacy agenda; ambitious reviews of the curriculum across all advancement; and an update of CASE's management and reporting standards and guidelines, which operate as the industry-leading set of standards. She is most proud of CASE's efforts to diversify the advancement professions and CASE's commitment to talent management, within the organization and across CASE's membership.

    Ms. Cunningham serves on the steering committee of the Washington Higher Education Secretariat, on the board of the Council of Higher Education Management Associations and on the fundraising committee for the Aurora Foundation.

    Prior to her appointment to CASE, Ms. Cunningham served as vice-principal for advancement at the University of Melbourne where she lead the Believe campaign resulting in surpassing its $500 million goal; and the director of development for the University of Oxford where she led a development team in the execution of the largest fundraising campaign outside of the United States: the Oxford Thinking Campaign, 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 in 2008, she was awarded a CASE Crystal Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. Ms. Cunningham holds a master's degree from Oxford University and a bachelor's degree in performing arts from Middlesex University.

    Sue Cunningham is president and CEO of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, which supports over 3,700 schools, colleges and universities worldwide in developing their 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.

    Appointed in March 2015, Ms. Cunningham joined CASE from the University of Melbourne where, as vice-principal for advancement, she worked with the vice chancellor in leading a campaign to raise AUS$500 million and building the advancement team across the university.

    Prior to her work in Australia, Ms. Cunningham served as director of development for the University of Oxford where she led a development team in the execution of the largest fundraising campaign outside of the United States: the Oxford Thinking Campaign, with a goal of £1.25 billion. During this time, she was also responsible for the establishment of the University of Oxford's first China office, based in Hong Kong.

    Previous to her role at the University of Oxford, Ms. Cunningham served as director of development at Christ Church, Oxford. She began her educational advancement career in 1998 as director of external relations at St. Andrews University.

    In all of her university roles, Ms. Cunningham regularly worked in North America, Europe and Asia, connecting with her institutional communities across the globe.

    Before working in educational advancement, she enjoyed a career in theatre, the arts and the cultural sector. Ms. Cunningham studied at the Godolphin and Latymer School in London and received a bachelor's degree in performance arts from Middlesex University in London. She was awarded a master's degree from Oxford University in 2003.

    Ms. Cunningham became a member of CASE in 1998 and served as an active volunteer throughout her membership. Key activities included serving as co-chair of the CASE Europe Conference fundraising track for two years, planning the first CASE Spring Institute for Educational Fundraisers and serving on the faculty, and as Chair, for several years, assisting in the establishment of the CASE Europe graduate trainee program, serving on the CASE Asia Pacific Institute for Educational Fundraising faculty and serving as the inaugural chair of the CASE Asia-Pacific Advisory Council.

    In 2012, Ms. Cunningham received the CASE Europe Distinguished Service Award, and in 2008, she was awarded a CASE Crystal Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching.

    Ms. Cunningham is an honorary fellow of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. 

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