MEDIA RELEASES & BLOG


Shifting the Focus: How CR Leaders Can Drive Innovation and Impact in Higher Ed

Author: Andrea Giuffrida, PhD, MBA

I believe the Corporate Relations (CR) role in higher education is changing. It’s no longer just about "corporate fundraising"; it’s about enabling research, innovation, and societal progress through strategic, mission-aligned partnerships.

I am planning to create a CR division within my office at Western University of Health Sciences, focused on research partnerships and entrepreneurial education.

So, I attended the Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers (NACRO) conference in Kansas City to explore best practices, learn how to structure the office, and identify key action items to position the division beyond transactional engagements toward solving industry challenges.


 



Charley Hasemann, PhD, Receives Mary Beth Maddox Lifetime Service Award from Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers (NACRO)

The Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers (NACRO), the premier organization unifying academic corporate relations professionals, announces that Charley Hasemann, PhD, Associate Vice President for Innovation & Economic Development at Michigan State University, has received its prestigious Mary Beth Maddox Lifetime Service Award. Read more




Corporate Engagement + Economic Outlook

In this changing economic landscape, the role of corporate partnerships in higher education is more critical than ever.

As state and federal funding tighten, strong industry alliances sustain not only institutional growth, but also create life-changing opportunities for students and faculty. Strategic corporate engagement is not just about fundraising - it's about building pipelines for research, student learning, and workforce development that fuel our communities. Read more




Explore an Adjacent Market (How to Work with Universities)

As the bridge builder of strategic partnerships between corporations and the nation's largest engineering school, I have learned that there are several great ways to conduct research and development by partnering with a research university.

You have already developed excellence in your core market, but you would like to find a way to explore offshoots and tangents to that core expertise. Research universities may be able to help with some of your Research and Development needs. While companies may call many of these activities R&D, universities make further distinctions that are important to know. Read more




NACRO Hosts 2025 Annual Conference in KC

The Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers (NACRO), the premier organization unifying academic corporate relations professionals, is set to hold its 2025 NACRO Annual Conference on July 15–17 in Kansas City, MO.

Corporate relations professionals from across the country will gather for three days of professional development, networking and collaboration at the conference (at The Westin Kansas City at Crown Center). NACRO’S Annual Conference focuses on innovative professional education, the dissemination of cutting-edge best practices and impactful networking opportunities. Read more


NACRO Partners with Halo

In an era where innovation drives global leadership, Halo and the Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers (NACRO) are excited to announce their partnership to strengthen U.S. competitiveness by expanding industry opportunities for institutions in the NSF-supported Emerge project. Read more


NACRO & AURP Launch Partnership

The Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers (NACRO), the premier organization unifying academic corporate relations professionals, today announced the launch of a strategic partnership with the Association of University Research Parks (AURP).

With this partnership, NACRO and AURP will collaborate to leverage the intersections of people, topics and issues common to each organization to spur new work in university research, university-corporate relations, technology transfer and technology commercialization. Read more