CUPA-HR eNews

ALP Attendees Get a Sneak Peek at CUPA-HR’s New Online Member Community
July 14, 2010

The 119 CUPA-HR volunteer leaders, key corporate partners and national office staff who converged on Nashville, Tennessee, July 9-10 for the annual Association Leadership Program (ALP) were thrilled to see a demo of the new online community for CUPA-HR members. A cross between Facebook, LinkedIn and more traditional forums, the CUPA-HR community will be rolled out to all members in the fall.

But online networking was only a small part of the two-day event presided over by National Board Chair Mary Maher and CUPA-HR President and CEO Andy Brantley. From association megatrends to board competencies, from networking with other volunteers to connecting with key corporate partners, attendees had the opportunity to absorb loads of information and share valuable insights of their own.

Megatrends, Emerging Issues and More
Maher, who is vice president and chief human resource officer at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, welcomed attendees on Friday with a quick lesson in colorful Texas sayings. Then Brantley took the podium to present an overview of eight association megatrends and their potential impact on CUPA-HR as it seeks to provide more value to its members – megatrends such as reverse mentoring and redefined retirement.

On Saturday, the group heard from Mark Coldren, associate vice president for human resources at Ithaca College and 2009-10 chair of the board’s Emerging Issues Committee. Coldren shared the committee’s work during the last fiscal year and two of the issues the committee identified as being critical to the higher ed workforce: the sustainability of the current higher education business model, and the need for shared services models for higher education institutions.

Breakout sessions for region leaders, chapter leaders and emerging leaders and an engaging “heard it on the street” segment facilitated by CUPA-HR’s key corporate partners rounded out the program. Overall, this year’s event had an air of excitement, and attendees left energized and full of ideas as they begin to plan for chapter meetings, regional conferences and national programs and services.

Thank You To Our Sponsors
A big thank you goes out to the organizations whose ongoing support makes the ALP possible. Since 1996, Mary Ann Wersch Premier Partner ING has been the Flagship Sponsor of the event. Other Mary Ann Wersch Premier Partners include TIAA-CREF; Sibson Consulting, A Division of Segal; and VALIC. Distinguished Partners Fidelity Investments, Standard Insurance Company, and Aetna were also part of the event, as were Benefactor Sponsors HigherEdJobs, PeopleAdmin, Aon Consulting and SunGard Higher Education.