Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission

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	View the 2008-2009 Vocation and Mission Presidents Program Brochure

Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission

This seminar-based program is designed to assist presidents—and their spouses—in affirming their own sense of vocation, and to weigh it in the context of the missions of the institutions they lead. Through a series of structured conversations, presidents and presidential spouses engage in an exploration of the ways in which the concepts of personal vocation and institutional mission can be resources for effective presidential leadership. The program, funded by a generous grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc., includes up to 20 college and university leaders and their spouses in each series.

The program seeks to increase the commitment across American higher education to vocation and mission as linked, fundamental concepts for building and sustaining effective presidencies in independent colleges and universities. The program rests on two premises:

Presidential leadership is strengthened by a congruence of institutional mission and personal vocation.

Carefully structured occasions for reflection and dialogue can help presidents discern that congruence, and help presidential spouses discern their particular role.

To date, fourteen participants in the original seminars for prospective presidents have since been appointed presidents: Robin E. Baker, provost, George Fox University, to president, George Fox University; Nancy H. Blattner, vice president and dean for academic affairs, Fontbonne University, to president, Caldwell College; Grant H. Cornwell, vice president of the university and dean of academic affairs, St. Lawrence University, to president, College of Wooster; Tracy Fitzsimmons, vice president for academic affairs, Shenandoah University, to president, Shenandoah University; Rockwell “Rock” Jones, executive vice president and dean of advancement at Hendrix College to president, Ohio Wesleyan University; Richard Jurasek, executive vice president, Antioch College, to president, Medaille College; Christopher W. Kimball, provost and vice president for academic affairs, California Lutheran University, to president, California Lutheran University; Michael Looney, chief academic officer, Schreiner University, to president, Pikeville College; Susan Pauly, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college, Mount Mercy College, to president, Salem College and Academy (NC); Lori Rodrigues-Fisher, provost, St. Ambrose University, to chancellor, Trinity College of Nursing and Health Science; David Rowe, vice president for advancement, LaGrange College, to president, Centenary College of Louisiana; Suzanne Shipley, vice president for academic affairs, College of Notre Dame of Maryland, to president, Shepherd University; Jay K. Simmons, vice president for academic affairs and dean, LaGrange College to president, Iowa Wesleyan College; and Cynthia Zane, chief academic officer and dean of the faculty, College of Mount St. Joseph, to president, Hilbert College.

Funder: Lilly Endowment Inc.

Program Status: From 2005 through 2009, six successful year-long series, each with a summer seminar and a follow-up winter event, were held to assist current presidents and prospective presidents (in separate programs), along with their spouses, to reflect on their sense of calling as it relates to the missions of the institutions they each lead (or might lead). During this initial period, nearly 50 presidents, most with spouses, participated in the presidents program, and an additional 62 senior administrators, many with their spouses, participated in the parallel program for prospective presidents. In September, 2009, CIC was awarded a renewal grant by Lilly Endowment Inc. to extend the Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission seminars through 2014. Four additional seminar series will be offered, three for prospective presidents in 2011–2012, 2012–2013, and 2014–2015, and one for presidents in 2013–2014. In addition, Lilly is funding a program evaluation project that will assess the program’s impact through a series of interviews with participants. The results will provide the basis for an analytical report by CIC senior advisor William Frame.

Independent Newsletter Articles
Fall 2009: CIC Launches Lilly Endowment-Supported NetVUE
Winter/Spring 2009: Seminar Explores Connections
Summer 2008: Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission Seminar
Winter/Spring 2008: Prospective Presidents Gather for Follow-up Seminar
Fall 2007: Vocation/Mission Program Update
Summer 2007: Vocation/Mission Program Enters Third Year
Winter/Spring 2007: Vocation, Mission Participants Meet for Follow-up
Fall 2006: Presidents, Prospective Presidents Meet for Vocation/Mission...
Summer 2006: Vocation/Mission Seminars Enter Second Successful Year
Summer 2005: Inaugural "Vocation/Mission" Seminars Are Launched

Press Release
October 2009: CIC Announces Lilly Endowment Grant
December 2004: CIC Announces Lilly Endowment Grant for Seminars on Vocation, Mission, and College Leadership

If you have questions about the Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission Program, please contact Hal Hartley, CIC Senior Vice President, at (202) 466-7230 or hhartley@cic.nche.edu.