As Saint Mary’s College worked to clarify its distinctive value proposition and strengthen its market position, the executive leadership team found itself rethinking how academic affairs, enrollment, and advancement worked together. That collaboration led to the development of the Avenue Experience, a four-year curriculum to career framework, and reshaped the initiative’s design, communication, funding, and implementation.
Over the past three years, this collaborative approach has helped Saint Mary’s launch the Avenue Experience, achieve 16 percent undergraduate enrollment growth, and significantly increase philanthropic support for the initiative.
Presenters will share how leadership collaboration evolved, the practices that made it possible, and the lessons learned about engaging partners across the institution earlier in the development of new initiatives while preserving the distinctive expertise of each division. Participants will leave with practical ideas for strengthening cross-functional collaboration in ways that enhance both institutional strategy and student success.
Megan Halteman Zwart, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Saint Mary’s College (IN)
Holly Johnson, Vice President for Advancement, Saint Mary’s College (IN)
Lori Johnson, Vice President for Student Enrollment and Engagement, Saint Mary’s College (IN)
Chair: Matthew Stinson, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, Allegheny College (PA)