Building a Strong Talent Pipeline: Strategies for Growth, Retention, and Succession in Higher Education Foundations-Presentation

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The CASE College & University Foundation webinar titled "Building a Strong Talent Pipeline: Strategies for Growth, Retention, and Succession in Higher Education Foundations," held on February 10, 2026, focused on effective talent management and succession planning within higher education development teams.<br /><br />Led by Matt White (VP, Advancement and President, Utah State University Foundation), Jill Trego (VP, Talent & Culture, Texas A&M Foundation), and Kim Van Lue (Principal Advisor & Founder, NorthSpring Leadership Consulting), the session explored key challenges faced by educational foundations in retaining and growing staff.<br /><br />Key topics included:<br />- The nature of succession planning as a strategic, future-oriented, systematic, and collaborative process that supports long-term growth and development rather than just short-term replacement or top-executive focus.<br />- The benefits of succession planning, which extend to organizational stability and talent retention.<br />- A four-step succession planning process: assessment, identifying successors, conducting talent reviews, and creating individual development plans.<br />- The importance of manager participation in talent development.<br />- The progression of employee growth from developing skills to becoming experts and role models, emphasizing bridging performance and potential.<br /><br />The webinar also addressed coaching frameworks tailored for development: development coaching (future-focused growth), performance coaching (present-focused gap addressing), and relational coaching (building trust and connection).<br /><br />Participants engaged in polling questions regarding organizational structure, availability of HR resources, leadership development, and primary development challenges.<br /><br />Kim Van Lue emphasized the importance of organizational diagnostic assessments, talent management projects, leadership development, and individual/group coaching as tools for nurturing talent pipelines in higher education foundations.<br /><br />The webinar concluded by encouraging continued connection and professional development in talent management strategies to strengthen growth, retention, and succession planning efforts in educational advancement.

Keywords

Talent Pipeline

Succession Planning

Higher Education Foundations

Talent Retention

Leadership Development

Coaching Frameworks

Organizational Stability

Employee Growth

Talent Management

Development Plans