Suggests strategies for developing a new college president's image, including thorough preparation; immediate contacts with trustees, students, faculty members, alumni, and key community figures; a focus on early successes in the key areas of fund raising and student recruitment; developing an on-campus presence; and strategic time management. (DB)

Describes the roles played by college presidents in alumni relations, including campus beacon, institution tactician, alumni relations advocate, and campus connector. Discusses the responsibilities of alumni relations executives toward college presidents, including as a channel to alumni, presidential gatekeeper, and "outsider." Includes…

A discussion of financial audits for alumni associations encourages their use as a means of checking the organization's financial systems, and gives suggestions for finding an auditor, keeping costs down, and preparing for the audit. (MSE)

This article examines four roles of the college or university development officer: salesperson (when direct solicitation is seen as the officer's primary role); catalyst (or sales manager, adviser, expert, facilitator); manager (stressing the importance of the overall office functioning); and leader (who exerts a leadership role in the…

Presents an interview with Bob Kerrey, president of New School University, on fund raising's role in politics and the campus presidency. (EV)

Gary Quehl, the outgoing president of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), talks about his specific accomplishments and three goals: to strengthen and expand CASE services for individual professionals, to forge stronger links between advancement practices and the educational purposes of colleges, and to restore public…

Planning for a successful transition to a new college administration is divided into four phases: (1) preparing for the announcement of a new leader; (2) making the formal presentation; (3) getting acquainted and introducing the president to others; and (4) creating regular opportunities for ongoing communication with all constituencies. (MSE)

Discusses the need for alumni directors to have a good working relationship with their college or university chief executive officer (CEO). Alumni directors need to increase their visibility, meet with the CEO on a regular basis, show results, plan around the CEO's schedule, and mediate conflicts between alumni and the CEO. (MDM)

A trustee at both a military school and a major university finds common responsibilities and dynamics on both boards and offers suggestions to development officers in their work with both trustees and fund-raising volunteers. (MSE)

Development officers at DePauw University (Indiana) use a structured, five-section, face-to-face interview process to assess prospective donors' ability to give and interest in giving, which then determines how the institution offers them the opportunity to support it. A step-by-step outline of the interview process is provided, as are answers to…

Provides advice to small alumni offices on how to manage alumni relations and the annual fund campaign, noting that small offices need to develop a flexible attitude, consider the benefits of performing both tasks, work with people they can count on, manage their time carefully, and balance both activities. (MDM)

An actual case of successful university gift solicitation is chronicled from beginning to end, including identifying the prospect, doing appropriate research, setting a strategy, involving the prospect, making the request, closing the solicitation, and following up. Persistence and good communication skills were keys to success. (MSE)

Steps and strategies to help senior development officers analyze activities, delegate duties, and concentrate on the central concerns of their job are provided. A distinction is made between activity urgency and importance. The techniques of selectively ignoring certain office cues and focusing on differential advantage in selecting activities are…

A number of factors keep college alumni staff and development officers from forging cooperative relationships, and campus and graduates suffer as a result. These factors include competition for resources and professional opportunities and stereotypes of administrator roles and characteristics. Successful partnerships require shared values and…

The role of creativity in college and university advancement is examined, and institutional barriers to creativity are discussed. The need for balance between creativity and judgment is emphasized. Sources of new ideas for fund raising are drawn from a variety of models and theories of creativity. (MSE)