Landing in a Tough Spot: Navigating the challenges of gifts of land

As a student at the University of Washington, Sarah Reyneveld saw firsthand the power of putting ideas into action.

"The ways people are trying to give, the ways they want to be communicated with, have all changed dramatically."

Within hours of the June 2016 Brexit referendum in which 51.9 percent of voters in the United Kingdom opted to leave the European Union, many U.K. universities created special teams to address their most immediate concerns: student and staff recruitment and retention. University College London convened a Brexit planning group, chaired by its president and provost, with top representatives participating from offices such as communications, development, international, education and student affairs, the registrar, and human resources, as well as the college's unions.

Joan Garry, principal of Joan Garry Consulting, believes the best nonprofits are like twin-engine jets. In advancement, the board chair and institution president are co-pilots. The staff and lead volunteer engines need to be strong, effective, and efficient. But, of course, there will always be turbulence. "If you haven't had a crisis at an institution, it's not because you're good—it's because you're lucky," she warns. The author of Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership, Garry shares advice on dealing with disorder.

Fasten your seatbelts, communicators. It's going to be another bumpy year (or five or 10). Student activism, campus protests, racist incidents, sexual assault, student misconduct, free speech, academic freedom, and data breaches are just a few of the issues that have made the past few years on college campuses challenging and sometimes exhausting. Add heightened tensions fueled by political polarization, stir in a campus population dominated by students accustomed to sharing their thoughts and experiences on social media, and it becomes clear why issues management is an increasingly critical role at higher education institutions.

Heraclitus was right. The Greek philosopher is known for having said, "Change is the only constant in life."

What Members Are Thinking and Sharing (Publications & Products))

After a few volatile years following the financial crisis that ended in 2009, economic experts say the state of the U.S. economy is looking up. Financial markets have again reached record highs, and economic indicators are trending positive, but the average American family is less optimistic about its financial future amid concerns over college affordability. In a combustible election year full of populist rhetoric, candidates for both federal and state offices are decrying higher education's price tag and mounting student loan debt.

Disruption. We've all heard about the seismic changes affecting multiple business sectors, and education is no exception. At their spring 2016 meetings, CASE Commission members discussed how we might turn disruptions into opportunities.