For marcomm leaders, it’s key to articulate where you want your team’s work to go—but then bridging the gap between intention and transformation takes a structured approach. That’s where a gap analysis framework comes in. It allows leaders to identify barriers to growth and develop clear, actionable paths to overcome them.

For a new leader, the first 30 days in the role are about establishing trust. Trust is built on consistency, compassion, competence, and communication. This checklist can help new vice presidents or managers assess their own skills and begin to set the groundwork for trust.

Higher education’s top leadership role has evolved and expanded—and today’s advancement leaders are finding partners in their presidents, chancellors, vice-chancellors, and rectors. Here, five pairs of leaders share how they work together with mutual trust and shared commitment to their institutions.

Kent State University transformed its phone center into a multichannel Alumni Engagement Center that’s revitalized the way it interacts with constituents. The new center has enriched relationships with alumni, friends, and partners—transitioning from transactional to transformational partnerships. Here’s how it works.  

In a conversation with Currents magazine, Sue Cunningham reflects on her 10 years as CASE president, and the joy she finds through in-person connections in all corners of the world. 

When it comes to educational marketing, universities and independent schools can seem worlds apart. But today they face similar challenges—competition for students, the need to demonstrate value, and the pressure to stand out in a crowded market. By recognizing each other’s strengths and learning from different approaches, universities and independent schools can enhance their marketing strategies, create stronger student connections, and remain competitive in an evolving, and often challenging, educational landscape. 

The average tenure for an advancement professional today is just five years. To keep staff on board, our workplaces need to be flexible, empathetic, inclusive, and transparent. Here, two researchers share what they’ve discovered about human-centered talent management and the key steps to retain staff: align talent to mission and values; engage the whole person; and recognize colleagues’ impact.  

Brand and reputation are essential for success across admissions, alumni relations, and fundraising, yet measuring them directly is challenging. The new CASE Insights Framework for Brand and Reputation Metrics is designed to meet this need, equipping marketing and communications professionals with tools to measure, benchmark, and understand their influence.

What is it like to win the coveted CASE Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year Award? The VCU Magazine team at Virginia Commonwealth University, U.S., answer this question and more as they share their strategies and philosophies, along with the surprise, excitement, and gratitude that come with receiving the top honor.

Getting noticed amid the chaos of an email inbox is harder than ever for marketers. They’re looking for less-crowded routes to reach their audiences, and many are finding one in an old, familiar place: Direct mail. Currents spoke with five COE-recognized teams about the stories behind their mailers and what lessons they’d share with others looking to create their own successful campaigns.