Designed for those with fewer than two years of advancement experience, this workshop explores the fundamentals of advancement across all disciplines (advancement services, alumni relations, fundraising, marketing and communications). Additional topics will include building a culture of generosity and the power of mentorship.

Higher education is changing fast — and presidential expectations for advancement are changing with it.

Join three sitting university presidents and their advancement vice presidents for a timely senior leadership conversation about the priorities shaping institutions today: enrollment and revenue disruption, government mandates, public trust in higher education, technology transformation, and the increasing role of principal and transformational gifts.

This session begins with a moderated panel featuring president/advancement leadership pairs sharing real examples of how they work together to meet institutional challenges, engage constituents, and advance mission-critical priorities, including:

• Harrison Keller, Ph.D., President, University of North Texas and Brandon Buzbee, Vice President for Advancement, University of North Texas
• Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., President, Baylor University and Jason Diffenderfer, Vice President for University Advancement, Baylor University
• Houston Davis, Ph.D., President, University of Central Arkansas and Mary Bane Lackie, Ed.D., Vice President of University Advancement/President of the UCA Foundation

The second half will shift to an interactive forum for peer exchange and facilitated discussion, giving senior leaders a chance to compare strategies, ask candid questions, and connect with colleagues facing similar pressures.

If you’re navigating institutional complexity and rising expectations, this is the room to be in.

Moderator: Sally Bryant, CEO, BRYANT GROUP

This workshop will address the needs of new and existing managers to grow their skillsets and support their teams. Join us in tackling topics including effective management, performance management, and managing up, down, and across. AGENDA 8:00 – 8:30 AM

Registration and Breakfast

8:30 – 9:15 AM

Characteristics of Highly Effective Managers
Kevin Fralicks, Associate Vice President for Development, Sam Houston State University, Ellen Whitlock-Baker, Executive Coach, Speaker

Thriving teams and institutions require effective managers to lead them. Join us as we explore (8) key traits that define these managers from adaptability to creativity, and resilience. Through case studies and group discussion, participants will develop a toolkit to elevate their management practices and drive success within their department.

9:15 – 9:30 AM

Coffee Break

9:30 – 10:30 AM

Getting to Know Your People and Performance Management
Dr. Michael Godfrey, Founder and President, True Course Executive Coaching, and Amy Armstrong

Successful performance management starts with understanding your team. In this interactive session, learn practical strategies to build trust, assess team dynamics, and set clear expectations. We’ll also discuss different approaches to align individual goals with organizational outcomes.

10:30 – 10:45 AM

Restroom/Stretch Break

10:45 – 11:30 AM

Managing Up, Down and Across
Paula Voyles Jewell, Vice President, School and Project Development, SMU

Institutions thrive when advancement professionals can effectively navigate relationships at every level. From securing leadership support to motivating staff and volunteers to building authentic cross-campus partnerships, the ability to “manage up, down, and across” is critical for sustainable success. This session will share best practices for setting expectations, inspiring constituents at every level, and collaborating across departments to expand engagement opportunities. Participants will leave with actionable strategies to align stakeholders, strengthen programming, and drive measurable outcomes.

11:30 – 11:45 AM

Closing Remarks

In an age defined by constant change, digital overload, and emotional fatigue, empathy has become the most valuable leadership skill of all. Jevon Wooden—Army veteran, leadership and workplace culture advisor, and emotional intelligence expert—reveals how empathy can rebuild trust, foster genuine human connection, and reignite engagement in today’s disconnected world. Drawing on powerful stories from the battlefield, the boardroom, and his personal journey of transformation, Jevon shares practical strategies for turning empathy from a “soft skill” into an individual and organizational advantage that drives performance, innovation, and belonging. Attendees will leave this session feeling energized and equipped to lead with greater awareness, communicate with impact, and create cultures where people feel seen, valued, and inspired to give their best.

Alumni engagement teams are increasingly asked to deliver large-scale, high-impact events with limited resources. This 60-minute panel brings together alumni engagement professionals who have successfully executed major alumni events by leveraging intentional cross-campus collaboration. Panelists will share practical strategies for partnering with academic units, student affairs, communications, and advancement colleagues to expand reach, streamline resources, and elevate the alumni experience. Attendees will gain actionable insights into planning and executing large-scale events, measuring alumni engagement through meaningful metrics, and using post-event reporting to demonstrate impact and inform future strategy. Participants will leave with adaptable frameworks for scaling alumni engagement efforts, strengthening campus partnerships, and delivering measurable value through events.

As institutions face increasing enrollment pressure and tighter budgets, teams must move beyond reporting activity and start driving strategic decisions. In this session, leaders from Northeastern State University will share how they are shifting from surface-level metrics to performance-driven insights that directly support enrollment goals. Attendees will learn how to identify the metrics that truly matter, align creative and audience strategy to the enrollment funnel, and use data to determine what to scale, shift, or stop. The result: a more focused, accountable, and results-oriented enrollment marketing approach.

Campaigns may have an official end date, but donor relationships don’t. When the University of Louisiana at Lafayette concluded its record-breaking Together campaign, the team faced a pivotal moment: how do you honor extraordinary generosity and demonstrate impact while navigating leadership transitions and evolving institutional priorities?

Rather than moving directly into another public campaign, the team rethought and redeployed plans. UL shifted from large public celebrations to more personal stewardship, private gatherings, and intentional relationship building with donors and volunteers.

Through thoughtful stewardship, authentic storytelling, and strategic reflection, UL is honoring donors, maintaining trust, and preserving campaign momentum while new priorities emerge. This session explores how advancement teams can navigate change after a campaign, sustain donor engagement, and remain positioned to capitalize on momentum when the time is right.

Advancement teams often focus on familiar categories such as LYBUNTs, new donors, and loyalty groups. Yet between these broad buckets sit overlooked audiences with untapped potential. Think of event-only givers, tribute donors, giving-day participants, alumni who are also parents or employees, or donors whose patterns are shaped by generation, gender, or geographic region. Their giving journeys rarely follow a straight line, which is precisely why traditional models miss them.

This session challenges you to rethink how you identify, engage, and retain these hidden segments. By shifting focus from the usual categories to the nuanced intersections in your data, those small cracks become pathways for deeper connection and lasting growth.

For generations, American higher education has been the engine behind the nation’s progress, driving our economic prosperity, building a skilled workforce, and nurturing a vibrant democracy. But colleges and universities are experiencing a growing crisis of confidence. Once respected institutions whose importance was assumed, they have suffered a steady decline in perceived value. Just ten years ago, 57% of Americans expressed significant trust in higher education. Today, that number has plummeted to 42%. This isn’t just a concerning trend—it’s a wake-up call. There are many reasons this is happening, but a core part of the problem is the narratives used to describe the value of a college degree, which too often focus narrowly on student recruitment and the job-market return graduates receive on the cost of tuition. Left out are countless ways higher education benefits everyone, whether or not they have earned a degree. To combat this erosion of trust, CASE has partnered with marketing firm BVK to create a public service campaign to promote the value of higher education, utilizing research on how to successfully change minds and shaped by the perspectives of those who most benefit from the work that higher education does. Called “College: Proud Sponsor of America at its Best,” the campaign seeks to remind Americans that college is a public good that uplifts every facet of our society, from creating a skilled workforce and fostering economic prosperity to improving our health, promoting democracy, and protecting our national security. This session will introduce participants to the campaign and the various ways their institutions can join the movement.

This session will guide attendees through the essential steps of transitioning an outsourced magazine to an in-house operation, with insights into launching an accompanying digital magazine. If you have a small team and aren't sure if you can produce a high-quality in-house magazine, we'll walk you through how you can get started.

Through a case study of Texas A&M University-San Antonio's own efforts, an overview of best practices, and interactive discussion, participants will leave with a clear roadmap to either internalize their current publication or start a new one—print or digital.