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TIAA is a unique financial partner. With an award-winning track record for consistent performance, TIAA is the leading provider of financial services in the academic, research, medical, cultural, and government fields. TIAA has $938 billion in assets under management (as of March 31, 2017) and offers a wide range of financial solutions, including investing, banking, advice and guidance, and retirement services. 

EAB’s mission is to make education smarter and communities stronger. The firm harnesses the collective power of more than 1,500 schools, colleges, and universities to uncover and apply proven practices and transformative insights. EAB knows complex problems require multifaceted solutions, and they work with each school differently to apply these insights through a customized blend of research, technology, and services. From kindergarten to college and beyond, EAB partners with education leaders, practitioners, and staff to accelerate progress and drive results across three key areas: enrollment management, student success, and institutional operations and strategy.

Ellucian provides innovative software and services to help educational institutions thrive in an open and dynamic world. The company delivers a broad portfolio of technology solutions, developed in collaboration with a global education community, and provides strategic guidance to help educational institutions of all kinds navigate change, achieve greater transparency, and drive efficiencies. More than 2,400 institutions in 40 countries around the world look to Ellucian for the ideas and insights that will move education forward, helping people everywhere discover their futures through learning. 

Strada Education Network is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to improving lives by catalyzing more direct and promising pathways between education and employment. Strada engages partners across education, nonprofits, business and government to focus relentlessly on students’ success throughout all phases of their working lives. Together, they address critical college to career challenges through strategic philanthropy, research and insights, and mission-aligned affiliates — all focused on advancing the universal right to realized potential Strada calls Completion With a Purpose. 

ACT | NRCCUA is an educational data science platform and research organization with offices in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Boston, Massachusetts, New York City, and Austin, Texas. For 44 years, NRCCUA has been a leading provider of data, technology, and programs serving students, high school educators, colleges, and universities. These solutions represent the link between students making important life decisions and those providing the resources and information they need to succeed in their post-secondary educations and careers. 

Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates has taken an authentic and thoughtful approach to all aspects of strategic and philanthropic consulting for its clients since 1994. JGA focuses on the concepts of mission, strategy, and accountability that underlie the philanthropic relationship and helps clients achieve high standards. JGA's team of experienced senior consultants offer client-focused, highly customized solutions to private colleges, independent schools, and large cultural organizations in the Central United States. The full-service firm assists with capital campaigns, development audits, feasibility studies, and general fundraising counsel. For more information, visit our website.

Sodexo, a leader in quality of life services, is committed to enhancing the learning environment on campus. By focusing on quality of life services, the company reinforces the overall experience of campus life, which in turn improves its partners’ effectiveness and performance. From designing meals around lifestyle needs to designing buildings for growing enrollments, its commitment to providing students and staff a nurturing learning environment spans the entire campus experience. 

The Registry is the nation's leading firm in the interim executive space. It is the only membership-based interim placement firm, which provides a business model that preempts the need for expensive, time-consuming, and potentially disruptive open-market interim searches. Over the last quarter-century, the Registry has defined and institutionalized "best practices" for the engagement of interim executives. Now with over 800 Members, the Registry is prepared to respond to the interim needs and requirements of colleges and universities in every sector and throughout the nation. The Registry can immediately generate interim candidate pools for presidents/chancellors, all cabinet positions, and deans. Most importantly, the Registry provides the very best interim talent, and its Members continue to achieve the very best results for their college and university clients.

Capture Higher Ed uses data and technology to attract, engage, and recruit mission-fit students. Capture leverages demographic, socio-economic, and behavioral data to deliver valuable insights for more effective and progressive student recruitment. Using an algorithmic approach, Capture maximizes meaningful engagement with prospective students at the most influential times in their decision-making journey, providing a better ROI to its partner institutions. Capture’s proprietary technology is built specifically for enrollment professionals, with real-time analytics and data visualization tools to easily monitor progress and measure the success of enrollment goals at any time. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Capture Higher Ed has served nearly 75 higher education institutions across the country, and has been recognized by Fortune as one of the greatest places to work and by Inc. 5000 as a fast-growing U.S. company. 

Credo has partnered with independent college and university presidents, cabinets, and board members around the country for more than 20 years, using their team of interdisciplinary experts to develop, research, implement, and help presidents and leadership teams go farther faster and more efficiently. Credo expertise in this sector of the higher education marketplace allows them to understand the unique challenges independent institutions face, as well as add context to the cultural, societal, and economic pressures influencing change. Informed by a holistic approach to institutional health, Credo delivers action and results in strategic planning, campus planning, student success, enrollment, and architecture.

Derck & Edson‘s commitment to higher education is demonstrated through their numerous planning, enhancement, and athletics projects on campuses throughout the United States. The firm’s expertise is demonstrated by the lasting, positive impressions that their work leaves on college and university campuses. Since 1940, the company has been transforming campuses through planning, design, and implementation services that meet the needs of colleges and universities, including: feasibility studies, master planning, athletic facilities design, implementation services, engineering, GIS services, architectural services, site design, circulation solutions, construction observation, inventory and analysis, and identity enhancement. 

​McAllister & Quinn is a higher education consulting firm that specializes in working with small colleges to secure federal grant funding. The firm is regarded as one of the most effective federal grant and faculty development firms for small colleges and universities. The firm currently represents more than 50 small and mid-sized colleges and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars for scholarships, academic programs, research, and student support services.

Metz Culinary Management has been an innovative leader in the hospitality industry since 1994. The company’s experience with thousands of guests per week enables Metz to bring restaurant-quality cuisine and service to its foodservice operations in the educational setting. The company’s menus offer fresh, nutritious, enticing options tailored to students, staff, and guests. Metz sources the best local foods and ingredients each season and offers an abundance of vegetarian, vegan, heart-healthy, and lower–fat choices because of the company’s commitment to nutrition. Cage-free eggs, fair-trade coffee, and antibiotic-free chicken are just the beginning of the company’s sustainability efforts. 

Stevens Strategy, LLC is a full-service consulting firm specializing in managing the process of strategic change in colleges, universities, and schools. The firm offers professional services to the leaders of these institutions in the following areas: institutional vision and strategy, strategic organizational leadership, market and program analytics, finance and data analytics, and institution-wide policy manual development. Stevens Strategy’s consultants have extensive experience serving colleges, universities, and schools—including positions as present and former trustees, presidents, faculty members, vice presidents, and other senior staff—each with a particular area of expertise in leadership and management. The firm’s clients include independent and public institutions from the largest universities to the smallest colleges and schools in America and throughout the world. 

Yaffe & Company, Inc. can help where boards and executive teams interface, and where data and relationships intersect. The firm’s team is comprised of former presidents of prestigious colleges and universities, and has four decades of experience in helping institutions to thrive and grow. Yaffe & Company are experts in the areas of board effectiveness, executive compensation contracts and performance, IRS compliance, goal-setting and performance evaluation, retirement and retention plan design, succession planning, leadership development, and presidential transition. With the firm’s guidance, the institution’s entire team will have constructive conversations that lead to greater clarity, meaningful outcomes, and positive growth. 

Ziegler provides its higher education clients with private placement structuring, capital raising, public private partnership structuring, strategic advisory services, equity and fixed-income sales & trading, for both rated and non-rated bond issues. The higher education practice complements Ziegler's other business lines in the healthcare, senior living and education sectors, allowing us to leverage our unique expertise in complex credit structures and financial advisory services. Through the practice, independent colleges and universities can learn what their competitors are doing, keep abreast of market trends, and take advantage of new financing opportunities.

College Consortium (CC) allows schools to share online courses and tuition revenue (academic sharing) to improve retention and graduation rates, academic alignment, and student success. Their platform seamlessly manages inter-college enrollments so schools can access a back-up inventory of online courses to support student progress and program enhancement. Students can access financial aid, count course grades in their campus GPA, replace poor grades, and count credit hours towards full-time status. CC's leadership team has over 80 years of experience in private, independent higher education as former presidents, provosts, CFOs, and vice presidents of enrollment and works directly with each institution to adapt academic sharing to its unique environment and culture.

AGB Search, LLC focuses exclusively on higher education leadership. The firm identifies interim appointments to preserve continuity, offers full search services to help institutions navigate the hiring process, provides transition assistance to set up leaders for long-term success, and offers compensation evaluation services to assess fair, competitive salaries. Each member of the consulting team brings years of experience as a higher education leader to the firm. AGB Search not only understands the demands of leadership, but also is deeply invested in supporting the next generation of leaders. 

Asset Strategy Consultants has been providing independent investment consulting services for retirement plans, endowments, foundations, and operating reserves since 1991. With five offices along the East Coast, ASC consults on $9.5 billion assets under management. Having no products of its own, nor any relationships with banks or brokers, ASC provides customized investing using an open-architecture approach. For 403(b) clients, ASC is the partner that will ensure best practices for an institution’s Plan, DOL compliance, and outstanding participant services. As a "preferred" TIAA Adviser, ASC is equipped to oversee the complexities of 403(b) Plans and the vendors that service them. It is the firm’s goal to service higher ed clients by supporting the institution’s participants.

​BKD CPAs & Advisors helps higher education institutions nationwide maintain financial stability, manage risks, and stay compliant with accounting standards and changing tax laws. By partnering with BKD CPAs & Advisors, colleges and universities can take advantage of opportunities, meet student needs, and prepare for what’s next. The firm’s knowledgeable advisors work with colleges and universities of all shapes and sizes, offering audit, tax, and consulting services, including contribution margin and program economics analysis. 

Casagrande Consulting, LLC is a boutique firm focused on providing insight into institutional, board, leadership, and compensation effectiveness to institutions of higher education. The firm has provided insight to more than 50 institutions since its launch in 2009. 

Educational & Institutional Insurance Administrators, Inc. (EIIA) is a nonprofit consortium offering a sophisticated range of insurance and risk management services to higher education institutions across the country and internationally. The consortium’s programs include property and casualty, auto, educators’ legal liability, workers’ compensation, student and athlete health insurance, employee benefits, and health plans. EIIA offers a library of educational videos, policy drafts, white papers, and legal briefs free to its members. The consortium is proud of its long-standing track record for educating institutions in managing risk and providing unique insurance programs and services tailored to their needs. 

​Farrell Day is a strategic management consulting firm partnering with presidents, boards, and senior leadership to build institution-wide strategic intent and the planning and execution necessary for sustained success. Formed by former Royall & Company senior principal Peter Farrell and Hardwick Day founder James Day, their engagements reflect the principals’ unusually broad range and deep level of experience and wish to be embedded in team efforts to achieve and optimize success. This range of experience includes a proprietary approach to tuition pricing and market position research as well as utilization of CRM data for analysis, prediction, prioritization, and segmented communication consulting across enrollment, development, and institutional research endeavors.

​GMB Architecture + Engineering is an architectural and engineering firm specializing in higher education, sports, K-12 education, healthcare, corporate, and industrial environments. Founded as an architectural firm in 1968, their list of services quickly grew to include mechanical, electrical, civil, and structural engineering, interior design, and landscape architecture. GMB offices are filled with over 100 experts who enjoy sharing their knowledge, and it’s amazing what great minds can do when they work together. The firm has 50 years of learning, growing, and giving back under their belts and serve their clients from four offices: Holland, Grand Rapids and Royal Oak, Michigan, and Indianapolis, Indiana.

​Goff Public is a Minnesota-based public relations and lobbying firm that has been helping clients share their stories, shape public opinion, and protect their reputations for more than 50 years. Goff Public is focused on three areas: relationships, reputations and results. The members of the firm are proven problem solvers who set the standard for client service, offering a full range of public relations expertise from crisis communications to strategic plans and communication audits to proactive media relations. Goff Institute, the training arm of Goff Public, has trained thousands of leaders and spokespeople across the country on how to interact with the media, respond in a crisis, and effectively advocate for their organization.

Hunter Global Education, LLC was established to bridge educational and relational gaps between American and Asian educational institutions and businesses. With today’s globalization, the need for honest, affordable, and reliable educational advice and assistance is growing. Institutions that once served local and regional needs are now being challenged to enter the global market, and trusted relationships are the highway on which international programs run. Students who once attended local and regional colleges and universities are venturing far from home to secure their education. Good decisions in all these areas require a sound knowledge of other cultures and countries. Hunter seeks to fill this knowledge and relationship void with its many programs and services. 

Huron is a global professional services firm committed to achieving sustainable results in partnership with its clients. The company brings depth of expertise in strategy, technology, operations, advisory services, and analytics to drive lasting and measurable results in the health care, higher education, life sciences, and commercial sectors. Through focus, passion, and collaboration, Huron provides guidance to support organizations as they contend with the change transforming their industries and businesses. 

Spelman Johnson is an executive search firm exclusively committed to serving higher education. Recruiting talented leaders on behalf of the institutions the firm serves, its success is strengthened by its deep and diverse relationships and its investment in the development and engagement of a leadership pipeline. Since 1991, the firm has helped hundreds of higher education institutions identify outstanding professionals, pairing exceptional leaders with positions across all facets of the academy. Spelman Johnson is nationally recognized for its thought leadership on issues of equity and diversity and for its commitment to inclusion in higher education. 

Hyatt-Fennell, Executive Search brings over 60 years of combined highly successful executive search expertise to its higher education clients. Hyatt-Fennell is well-known and respected for placing top executives with independent colleges and universities and has earned a reputation for achieving results on the national and international level. Through a partnership with its clients, Hyatt-Fennell enhances and streamlines the search process and provides a commitment to find the perfect person for each position. 

​The Nelson Mullins School and College law team reaches across disciplines to help clients reach their goals and plan ahead. The firm provides holistic representation for clients’ legal needs. Their education law professionals serve as thought leaders, and partner with other thought leaders, to impact educational policy and advocate best practices. The firm has worked with local, state, and federal regulatory agencies and legislative bodies. They also represent clients before administrative tribunals and federal courts to achieve optimal results for their clients. Founded in 1897, Nelson Mullins today has more than 550 attorneys and other professionals located in 10 states and Washington, DC. 

​Parkhurst Dining delivers authentic culinary experiences exclusively to private colleges and universities. Parkhurst Dining was founded in 1996 on the premise of choosing “imperfection over standardization”. The organization has held fast to their culinary values and knows that made-from-scratch food delivers greater student satisfaction and engagement leading to stronger financial outcomes for its clients. Parkhurst Dining is also known for its commitment to sustainable practices and local sourcing; dedication to client partnerships and seamlessly integrating into the campus culture; a people-first approach to team management, training and development; and an investment back in the communities in which they live and work.

RH Perry & Associates partners with institutions of higher education and other mission-driven organizations to identify outstanding leaders. Established in 1974, RH Perry’s higher education practice consists of a well-balanced mix of individuals with executive-level higher education experience and search expertise. Their team is comprised of 11 senior consultants who co-lead search assignments and a team of communications and research specialists who support each search team. RH Perry is committed to: 1) respecting and embracing the unique perspectives and talents of their clients, their candidates, and their team; 2) acting with integrity through honest and informed counsel; 3) promoting transparency by proactively communicating critical information and clearly articulating their best practices; 4) maintaining appropriate confidentiality throughout and beyond our search process; and 5) operating in a spirit of collegiality by treating others with respect and honoring diverse life and work styles.

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC is a national law firm of more than 300 lawyers with offices in Colorado, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia. The firm’s higher education team consists of attorneys from multiple disciplines who cater to the diverse legal service needs of independent colleges throughout the United States, including advice on a broad array of compliance issues and tax-exempt financing. The firm’s attorneys have held positions in higher education as in-house counsel, accountants, development officers, trustees, and faculty members, and they have extensive experience handling issues confronting multiple colleges. In short, the firm understands higher education and constantly aspires to provide cost-effective, pragmatic solutions based on that understanding. 

The Dysart Group is a higher education consulting firm specializing in admissions, financial aid, retention, pricing and revenue growth. The firm has provided consulting services to nearly 200 colleges and universities throughout the country. The Dysart Group’s clients have been able to increase new student enrollments by as much as 70%, stabilize or reduce financial aid costs, and improve retention rates bye by as much as 7% in a single cycle.