|
|
 |
Prospective Presidents Program
The Prospective Presidents Program is designed to help prospective
college and university presidents clarify their own sense of personal
vocation, and to weigh it in the context of the missions of institutions
they lead and might lead in the future. The program, funded by a generous
grant from the Lilly Endowment, will include up to 20 participants and
their spouses. Information on the program and how to nominate persons
to participate in the program is provided below. The nomination
deadline is March 31, 2005.
Click
here to view the Prospective Presidents Program brochure. (This
is a PDF file. In order to view
properly, the minimum software requirement is version 4.0. Adobe
Acrobat is available for free from the Adobe
Web site.)
Vocation and Mission
Individuals often bring to a presidency—or discover
as president—a deep sense of vocation or calling. This sense
of vocation is likely to have multiple origins, representing a unique
composite of an individual’s experiences and professional competence,
as well as an appreciation of the kinds of endeavors that offer personal
satisfaction, a sense of meaning, and in many cases a spiritually
grounded belief about the importance of this work as president. Such
a calling offers the promise of self-knowledge at a level that can
contribute significantly to the success of a presidency. Yet frequently
the call is not sufficiently nourished and strengthened.
Institutional mission and self-definition, too, typically
spring from multiple sources. They may include the values of a founding
religious denomination, the history of a place or a region, characteristics
of a student population, and a particular educational philosophy.
Each institution, as a result, has a distinctive self-definition.
The institutional self comes to life in oft-repeated stories, beloved
campus features, cherished events, and memories of respected individuals.
Leaders need to grow in their ability to know their
own vocation and to understand the full texture of the institutions
they lead. Out of that self-knowledge and understanding they can construct
a compelling narrative that guides their work as it creates a vision
for the institution’s future. Leaders in touch with these deep
wellsprings of personal calling and institutional meaning will be
more likely to lead effectively as well as craft a more appropriate
context for decision-making. To foster such leadership, CIC has developed
this program.
The program has several components:
-
A summer seminar (July/August 2005)
-
Telephone consultations (Fall 2005 and Spring 2006)
-
A winter follow-up meeting (February 2006)
-
Readings (throughout)
Spouses are welcome and encouraged to participate in the entire program.
Presidential spouses have a wide range of responsibilities on most private
college campuses.
Participation in the program is by nomination only. Nominators must
be current or retired college or university presidents.
Back
to top
Program
Structure
This program—offered for the first time in 2005—provides
20 prospective presidents and their spouses the opportunity for candid,
intense, small group discussion among their peers. Guiding the discussions
will be facilitators who are expert on matters of personal vocation
and institutional mission—from both spiritual and secular perspectives.
Seminar Topics
-
Theological, philosophical, historical, and psychological
frameworks for understanding vocation
-
Personal vocation: how to discern it
-
Institutional mission: how to understand it
-
Connecting vocation with institutional mission
-
When we have strengthened the connection, what will
we do?
The “bookend” features of this program are a three-day
summer seminar and a one-day winter reprise of the seminar (see Preliminary
Schedule). Other activities before the summer seminar, between the
two events, and after the follow-up event are as follows:
Before the Summer Seminar (Early Summer 2005)
Participants will be expected to read selected essays in preparation
for the summer seminar. The readings will emphasize vocation, with secondary
attention to mission. Each participating prospective president will
write two short pieces for distribution in advance to all participants:
-
Reflections on vocation, or your own personal statement
of vocation, in 100 words or less
-
Observations on the significance of institutional
mission in 100 words or less
Between the Summer Seminar and the Winter Follow-Up
(Fall 2005)
Each participant will consult by telephone twice with one of the seminar
leaders, in September and in November. The purpose of the consultations
for prospective presidents will be to review how the reflections on
vocation and mission from the summer intersect with their evaluation
of potential opportunities to serve as president. Participants will
read several more selections before the winter
follow-up meeting.
After the Follow-up Event (Spring 2006)
Each participant will have one telephone consultation with a seminar
leader in March or April. The topics of the final consultation will
be:
-
Changes in my own sense of personal vocation
-
Changes in my own understanding of institutional mission
-
Benefits realized from my participation in the program
-
My future plans in light of the program
Costs
Most costs, including reimbursement of travel to the summer seminar,
lodging, meals, consultations, and materials will be covered by the
program. The registration fee is $250 for the prospective president
and $125 for an accompanying spouse.
Leadership (to date)
The following people will be involved in advising, planning, and leading
sessions at the seminar:
William V. Frame, president, Augsburg College, and CIC Senior Advisor
(project director)
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, director, Quality of Life Research Center,
Claremont Graduate University
Paul J. Dovre, president emeritus, Concordia College at Moorhead (MN)
Jean A. Dowdall, vice president, Witt-Kieffer, and former president,
Simmons College
Douglas Jacobsen, distinguished professor of church history and theology,
Messiah College
Stephen G. Jennings, president, University of Evansville, and former
president, Oklahoma City University, Simpson College, and College of
the Ozarks
Mary Pat Seurkamp, president, College of Notre Dame of Maryland
Shirley H. Showalter, vice president, programs, Fetzer Institute, and
former president, Goshen College
Raymond B. Williams, director emeritus, Wabash Center for Teaching
and Learning in Theology and Religion
Back
to top
Nomination
Information
Nominators and prospective participants can direct questions
about the program to Frederik Ohles, CIC’s vice president for
advancement, by telephone at (202) 466-7230 or e-mail at fohles@cic.nche.edu.
Nomination Procedure
Presidents who wish to nominate someone for participation should (1)
follow the nomination instructions included in this announcement;
(2) write a brief letter of nomination addressing how the nominee
will benefit from participation in this program; and (3) attach a
brief statement by the nominee on (a) his or her own sense of vocation,
(b) a reflection on the role of mission in higher education, and (c)
anticipated benefits for the nominee and institutions he or she might
serve, from participation in this program.
The completed nomination materials should be submitted
as a single package to CIC’s offices by mail or express delivery
to One Dupont Circle, Suite 320, Washington, DC 20036; by fax to (202)
466-7238; or by e-mail to vocationprospective@cic.nche.edu.
Nominations received by the deadline of March 31, 2005, will be given
first consideration.
Selection Criteria
If the number of nominees exceeds the program capacity, these criteria
will be used to select participants:
-
What evidence is there of the individual’s
commitment to the program’s purpose—the relationship between
personal vocation and institutional mission?
-
How will the individual’s participation in
the program strengthen his or her capacity to serve effectively as
a college or university president?
-
How will the individual’s participation contribute
to the diversity of perspectives and experiences in the program?
Back
to top
Nomination
Instructions
The nomination must come from a nominator who is a current
or retired college or university president.
On a cover sheet, please provide the following information
about the nominee and nominator:
Nominee Information
1. Nominee's name
2. Position
3. Mailing address
4. Telephone
5. Fax
6. E-mail
7. Nominee's years in current position
8. Prior positions in the past 15 years
9. Prior professional development programs
10. Marital status
11. Name of spouse, if married
12. Will the nominee's spouse participate in the program?
(Yes, no, uncertain, not applicable)
Nominator Information
1. Nominator's name
2. Position
3. Mailing address
4. Telephone
5. Fax
6. E-mail
Attach a statement of nomination addressing how the nominee will benefit
from participation in this program. The statement should be no more
than one page long.
In addition, attach a statement of no more than two
pages prepared by the nominee on his or her own sense of vocation,
a reflection on the role of mission in higher education, and the benefits
that he or she anticipates from participation in this program, both
personally and for institutions he or she might serve.
Please send the completed nomination to CIC for receipt
by March 31, 2005.
Back
to top
Preliminary
Schedule
| |
| Sunday, July 31, 2005 |
| |
|
| 4:00 p.m. |
Arrival and registration |
| 5:00-6:00 p.m. |
Reception |
| 6:00-7:00 p.m. |
Dinner |
| 7:00-8:30 p.m. |
Introduction to the program and introduction of the participants |
|
Opening reflection exercise on institutional mission and
personal vocation |
| |
| Monday, August 1, 2005 |
| |
|
| 8:30-10:30 a.m. |
Small group discussions of personal vocation, drawing upon
readings |
| 10:30-Noon |
Reflection exercise for whole group on personal vocation,
drawing upon readings |
| Noon-1:00 p.m. |
Lunch |
| 1:00-2:00 p.m. |
Free time |
| 2:00-3:00 p.m. |
Small group discussions on understanding institutional mission,
drawing upon the participants' distillations of missions |
| 3:00-4:30 p.m. |
Reflection exercise for whole group on institutional mission,
drawing upon the participants' distillations of missions |
| 5:00-6:00 p.m. |
Reception |
| 6:00-7:00 p.m. |
Dinner |
7:00-8:30 p.m. |
Small group discussions on the alignment of personal vocation
and institutional mission |
|
|
| Tuesday, August 2, 2005 |
|
|
| 9:00-10:30 a.m. |
Small group exercises on personal vocation in practice and
institutional mission in crisis |
| 10:45-Noon |
Reflection exercise for the whole group on mission and vocation |
| Noon-1:00 p.m. |
Lunch |
| 1:00-2:00 p.m. |
Free time |
| 2:00-3:00 p.m. |
Plenary discussion of essential presidential skills as they
relate to personal vocation and institutional mission |
3:00-4:00 p.m. |
Closing plenary session |
| |
|
|
|
Winter Follow-up Agenda |
|
|
|
Friday, February 24, 2006 |
|
| |
|
| 1:30-2:00 p.m. |
Opening plenary session |
| 2:00-4:00 p.m. |
Small group discussion of mission and vocation—drawing
upon readings and experiences on campus during the fall |
| 4:30-6:00 p.m. |
Plenary session on key themes from the small group discussions |
7:00 p.m. |
Dinner with reflections by seminar leaders |
|
|
| Saturday, February 25, 2006 |
|
|
|
| 9:00-10:30 a.m. |
Small group discussion of discernment—experiences in
person and on campus during the fall |
| 10:30-11:30 a.m. |
Plenary session on key themes from the small group discussions |
Noon-1:00 p.m. |
Lunch and adjournment |
|
|
Back to top
Questions
If you have questions about the Presidential Vocation
and Institutional Mission Program, please contact Fred Ohles, CIC
Vice President for Advancement, at (202) 466-7230 or fohles@cic.nche.edu.
|
|
