Larry Vellani, director of corporate and foundation relations, designed and co-facilitated a one-half day national conversation on opportunities and challenges facing liberal arts colleges in the current economy. Entitled “Liberal Arts Colleges Affinity Discussion: Our Unique Challenges and Opportunities,” the session was part of the National Conference for Corporate and Foundation Officers sponsored by the Council on the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and took place in New York City June 1 – 3.
Vellani’s co-facilitator for the half-day session was Robert Weisenfeld, assistant vice president for corporate and foundation relations at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. More than 35 institutions from the Pacific Northwest to New England to the Gulf Coast sent corporate and foundation officers to the session.
Among the topics that the participants analyzed were best practices in a worst-case economy, the nature of corporate sponsorships at a non-research-based institution, engaging faculty and other internal constituents, benchmarks and measurements of success, and closer coordination with academic offices working on public sector grants and research contracts.