Assessment, Communication, and Fundraising: Storytelling, Collaboration, and Success
Recorded On: 07/28/2023
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In recent years, student affairs divisions have been more formally charged with assessing programs and services for effectiveness and student learning. In addition, divisions have focused on “telling our story” to a variety of internal and external audiences. Institutions and divisions have also faced budget challenges, putting more emphasis on external funding sources. Now more than ever, staff need to be skilled in telling evidence-based stories that motivate donors to support the important work of student affairs. Through collaborative efforts, staff can be more strategic in telling a compelling story that highlights student success.
Darby M. Roberts
Director, Student Affairs Planning, Assessment & Research
Texas A&M University
Darby Roberts, Ph.D. is director of Student Affairs Planning, Assessment & Research in the Division of Student Affairs at Texas A&M University. She has been working in student affairs assessment since 1998 and teaches in the Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education master’s program at Texas A&M. She has been actively involved in the NASPA Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Knowledge Community (twice as co-chair), as well as the Student Affairs Assessment Leaders organization. In 2016, she co-authored Student Affairs Assessment: Theory to Practice and co-edited Assessing Student Leadership, a monograph in the New Directions for Student Leadership series. She also co-edited Learning is Not a Sprint: Assessing and Documenting Student Leader Learning in Cocurricular Involvement. In the past several years, Darby has also contributed chapters to several books on student affairs assessment and student learning. She frequently presents at conferences and consults with campuses on their assessment needs. Related to communications and fundraising, Darby created a workshop for the Division of Student Affairs to illustrate the power of connecting assessment, communication, and development.
Alma E. M. Garcia
Assistant Director of Development
The University of Texas at Austin, Vice President for Student Affairs office
Alma Garcia is the assistant director of development for the Vice President for Student Affairs at UT Austin. She has been in this role for the past five years. In her current role she manages endowments, stewardship, annual giving initiatives and events while also supporting strategic planning and work on the University’s capital campaign, “What Starts Here.” Alma has been involved in development, fundraising and event planning for over nine years, mostly within K-12 and higher education. Currently, Alma serves as the Chair for the Student Affairs Fundraising and Communications Knowledge Community with NASPA. She has been on the leadership team of this KC since 2019. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Texas A&M University and Masters in Public Administration with a focus on nonprofits and government institutions from Texas State University.