As Saint Mary’s College worked to clarify our distinctive value proposition and strengthen our market position, our 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 how we designed, communicated, funded, and implemented the initiative.
Over the past three years, this collaborative approach has helped Saint Mary’s launch the Avenue Experience, achieve 16% undergraduate enrollment growth, and significantly increase philanthropic support for the initiative.
We’ll share how our leadership collaboration evolved, the practices that made it possible, and the lessons we 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, 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)