One of Michigan State University’s leaders in entrepreneurship and innovation is now helping lead efforts to support a network of U.S. and international corporate relations professionals in academia, industry and government.

Charles Hasemann was recently named co-president of NACRO (Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers). Along with fellow co-president Barry Dickerson from the University of Illinois, Hasemann will advance efforts toward the organization’s long-term goal of engaging industry through open discussion and sharing best practices.

Corporate philanthropy and R&D have become more collaborative in nature, and as corporations expand globally but work locally, many seek the “front door” to an academic institution that a university corporate relations office can provide. As assistant vice president for innovation and economic development at the MSU Innovation Center, Hasemann brings more than a decade of experience, serving as the leader behind MSU’s front door to corporate engagement.

“For every professional, myself included, continuing education and professional development are important facets of being as good at our jobs as we can be,” Hasemann explained. “NACRO is a professional society that provides venue and content for this learning, as well as an outstanding network of peers who become a resource to members as they strive to learn and improve in their career.”

Over the next year, Hasemann and Dickerson expect to accomplish the following objectives:

• Refresh of the organization’s strategic plan.
• Create an intentional plan for recovery from the pandemic – focusing on the value proposition to members and re-recruiting those members as they reenter the world of in-person conferences, while retaining the value of remote learning built over the past 18 months.
• Build an action plan for strategically growing membership with a focus on diversity and inclusion.
• Expand the engagement of corporate relations professionals employed at corporations

Hasemann said while there is a lot of work ahead, he finds the task meaningful.

“NACRO is a great organization – and I am proud to be a part of it, and to have the opportunity to make a contribution,” he said. “I encourage all the professionals at MSU who engage in corporate relations in any way – supporting research, career services, philanthropy, or in other ways – to engage, and to work together to achieve the goals of ‘wholistic corporate engagement’ that NACRO has defined and championed.”