MEDIA RELEASES & BLOG
By Rick Muma, President, Wichita State University
The way universities work with industry is changing. Companies no longer want to be limited to sponsoring a project or hosting a career fair. They want to be true partners — sharing space, solving problems and shaping the future of the workforce.
Successful corporate relations programs in higher education require a strategic, institution-wide approach that fosters long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships with industry, according to a newly released white paper report by the Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers (NACRO).
By Anne Borchert
When I first began working in academic corporate relations, the landscape looked very different. Universities and corporations interacted primarily through philanthropic gifts and sponsorships — generous, yes, but often transactional and limited in scope.
Today, we’re witnessing a profound shift. Corporate engagement has evolved into something far more strategic, multifaceted, and mission-critical.
NACRO recently announced its 2025-2026 Board of Directors. The new Board of Directors were named at the NACRO 2025 Annual Conference, July 15–17, in Kansas City, MO.
The term for the newly elected NACRO Board members is July 2025 through July 2026.
By 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.
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
By Christine Roth
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
By Joseph Huang
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
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
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
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
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