There is no question that higher education institutions need to focus on cultivating employee excellence during challenging economic times. Our institutions cannot be competitive and provide the education and resources our students need unless we emphasize to our employees how much we value their contributions. At the same time, the traditional employee/employer "contract" for higher education must change so that our institutions become nimble enough to meet current and future challenges. Andy and session participants will discuss the best ways of addressing and balancing these two critical issues. Andy will also share the results of CUPA-HR's (College and University Professional Association for Human Resources) recent economic issues survey including national data regarding employee morale and key strategies that higher ed institutions are using to cope with the economic turmoil.

Key discussion topics will include:
• the changing higher education employment contract,
• management of the higher education workforce during ongoing uncertainty
• the balance between embracing the past and preparing for the future
• results of CUPA-HR's recent economic issues survey