Senior Leadership Academy Participants Complete Year-Long Program

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Following an intensive year-long program to prepare for leadership positions in the nation’s private colleges and universities, the 41 participants in the first cohort (2010-2011) of the CIC Senior Leadership Academy (SLA) greeted one another enthusiastically as they met for the closing seminar on June 8–10, 2011, in Arlington, Virginia. Ann Die Hasselmo, director of the Academy and president of the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI), moderated the discussion.

In his opening remarks, CIC President Richard Ekman said, “Strengthening the leadership of independent colleges and universities is one of the principal missions of CIC, and the Senior Leadership Academy builds on CIC’s other leadership development programs.” The SLA prepares individuals for positions as the chief officers in their respective divisions—academic affairs, student affairs, finance, enrollment management, and advancement—in independent higher education, and also helps participants gain a better understanding of the broader context within which their own institutions operate and develop a perspective beyond their current position, department, division, and institution.

The Academy is a year-long program consisting of several components, including:

Following the opening luncheon, Frederick H. Finks, president of Ashland University (OH), talked with participants about “Servant Leadership” and Thomas R. Kepple, Jr., president of Juniata College (PA), shared his thoughts and experiences on “Building a Presidential Team.” Participants then formed working groups to review each other’s mock cover letters and curriculum vitae in preparation for real searches in the future. Todd Hutton, president of Utica College (NY), presented a pre-dinner talk on “What Aspiring Provosts and Vice Presidents Should Know from a President’s Perspective: Care and Feeding of Trustees and Other Sundry Expectations.” That conversation continued over dinner as new working groups used what they had learned to review and discuss their experiential plans and what steps they will take next to advance their careers.

The next day featured a panel of advancement officers who presented “An Advancement Primer for Cabinet Officers.” Shannon Duvall, associate vice president for development at Albion College (MI); Henry M. Goodgame, Jr., director of alumni relations and alumni giving at Morehouse College (GA); Craig Harris, director of development at Hilbert College (NY); and Margaret Pomfret, associate vice president for institutional advancement and campaigns at Ashland University (OH) helped demystify the world of fundraising for participants in other divisions. They were followed by Richard R. Heiser, professor and chair of history at Presbyterian College (SC) and his mentor, John V. Griffith, president of Presbyterian College, who shared their experience in a session on “Living Your Career Path.”

Over lunch, four Academy participants candidly described recent experiences in searches for new positions. Lisa N. Gentile, associate professor and chair of the chemistry department at the University of Richmond (VA); Woodrow B. Hood, dean of performing arts at Catawba College (NC) (now associate professor of theatre and communication at Wake Forest University); Amy Jessen-Marshall, interim provost of Otterbein University (OH) (now vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Sweet Briar College (VA)); and Lily McNair, associate vice president of research and professor of psychology at Spelman College (GA) (and now provost of Wagner College (NY)) helped their Academy colleagues prepare for the search process.