The LEAD Conference Evolves: Building Partnerships
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In 2014, vitalink president and CEO, Jeanne Frazer, was invited to speak at the American Marketing Association’s Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education along with a university client from an HBCU (Historically Black College & University). They shared a success story around rebranding the university, repositioning the school to become the fastest growing HBCU in the country (at that time).
Interestingly, while attending the AMA symposium, Frazer noted that there were no HBCUs in attendance and very little minority representation. This sparked discussion among our team that led vitalink and two minority-owned partner organizations to launch HBCUgrow with the mission of sharing knowledge and connecting people.
One of the first actions taken by HBCUgrow was to create our own conference and invite HBCUs to learn the latest information around branding, multi-channel marketing, and web development. The first conference took place in the spring of 2015 at Fort Valley State University. The conference was a hit and became an annual event, with topics evolving into fundraising, enrollment management, and more.
Along the way we learned the true value attendees received from these events was at the intersection of education and business. So, we shifted our focus to building partnerships between colleges and universities and the businesses in attendance, creating opportunities for attendees to truly connect and develop partnerships that help both succeed. This was readily apparent at our last conference, held at the US Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where attendees included university professionals and students making connections with speakers from Microsoft, Docusign, Spectrum Reach, and more.
The partnership focus continues! Join us for the LEAD ’26 Conference on November 12, 2026, at The Conference Center @NCBiotech, located in the North Carolina Biotechnology Center headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. This year’s theme is The Strategic Alliance: Integrating Higher Ed into the Corporate R&D Value Chain. Visit www.HBCUgrow.com to learn more.
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