No longer can the college or university president be simply a learned extension of the academic enterprise itself; today’s president has to be chief fundraiser, spokesperson, alumni cajoler, and enrollment advocate. Today’s president, before everything else, is an advancement officer.
 

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.

Let's face it: No one who works in communications and marketing wants to design flyers or write email copy every day. These professionals crave inventive yet impactful projects that will propel the school, college, or university they serve. But too often creative people devote their workdays to cranking out uninspired deliverables for Director So-and-So's upcoming event. When a marcomm team functions as a service-level agency, its members live in reaction mode. Its agenda is set by urgent requests from other units rather than the institution's strategic goals.

Here's how managers—and the people who hire them—can improve. Leaders share what to do, what not to do, and how to know the difference.

How many times have you heard this: "I didn't plan on a career in advancement—I just fell into it"? Despite a growing need for fundraisers, recruiters are struggling to find talent. "The development profession is still a well-kept secret—and something we need to change," CASE President Sue Cunningham said during a recent CASE program. Degree programs in advancement remain rare (although notable ones include the U.K.'s University of Chichester's charity development degree and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University), and the field is frequently misunderstood.

After three years as director of communications for a startup company, in late 2014 I traded a spacious open-plan office and perks such as yoga and unlimited vacation days for a newly created position at my alma mater.