University of Glasgow Principal Professor Anton Muscatelli has delivered the opening plenary at the prestigious Council for Advancement and Support of Education European Conference.
 
Held at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow, more than 800 delegates from 33 countries heard Professor Muscatelli argue that despite extremely tough economic times, higher education institutions should still invest in fundraising.
 
Professor Muscatelli said: "It was a tremendous honour to open the CASE Europe conference, particularly in this city. I have attended the conference on many occasions before and to deliver the opening plenary is a special moment. The difficult economic times make for a challenging backdrop to all university activities and I used this as a major theme.
 
"I made the point that universities are important to society and ideal vehicles for philanthropy. It is obvious that difficult economic circumstances might impact on philanthropy and I referred backed to the 19th Century and the Great Depression.
 
"Using a case study from a major fundraising project held at the University of Glasgow in the 19th Century - namely the drive to move our university from the city's east end to its current location - a number of contemporary themes emerge - strategic alignment, fundraising techniques, matched funding, public/civic engagement, and co-operation of different arms of a University’s advancement function.
 
"The conclusion I reached is that recessions need not stop major fundraising campaigns in their tracks, but it is more important than in good economic times for universities to closely align fundraising campaigns to university strategy and to ensure close co-operation between fundraising, marketing and corporate communications."
 
Other speakers at the conference, which runs until Thursday, include Greg Dyke, former Director General of the BBC and now Chancellor of the University of York and Alex Schultz, Facebook's Internet Marketing Manager.
 
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education is a professional association serving educational institutions and the advancement professionals who work on their behalf in alumni relations, communications, development, marketing and allied areas.
 
CASE helps its members build stronger relationships with their alumni and donors, raise funds for campus projects, produce recruitment materials, market their institutions to prospective students, diversify the profession, and foster public support of education.

First published: 31 August 2010

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