Engagement starts with employees — the faculty and staff.
That is the thread running through my conversation with Michael Latsko, Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer at Arizona State University. Michael brings a perspective grounded in culture, workforce strategy, and institutional design, and it reframes engagement as something that is built internally before it is ever expressed externally.
If you believe engagement is more than events, communications, or programming, this conversation will push your thinking. Because if the employee experience is not strong, if the culture is not aligned, then engagement becomes something we try to manufacture instead of something that naturally extends beyond the institution. In a moment where connection and community matter more than ever, that distinction is becoming harder to ignore.
Listeners will hear:
Why engagement should be viewed as a system shaped by employee experience
How institutional culture influences alumni connection and long-term loyalty
What advancement leaders can learn from HR and workforce strategy
The role of leadership philosophy in scaling engagement across an institution
Where traditional engagement models fall short in today’s environment
How to think differently about connection before and after graduation
