Edgewood Workshop on Exploring College Presidency

CIC cosponsored with Edgewood College (WI) a new leadership program, “Considering the Presidency: A Symposium for Provosts, Senior Administrators, and Deans.” The symposium was held on June 4–6, 2006 at the Edgewood campus in Madison, Wisconsin. Topics included the nature of the president’s job, characteristics of successful presidents, ways to acquire the necessary skills, and “getting the job.” Participating CIC institutions included Carroll College (WI), Edgewood College (WI), Elmhurst College (IL), Hamilton College (NY), LaGrange College (GA), Midway College (KY), Nebraska Wesleyan University, Oklahoma City University, Southern New Hampshire University, St. Ambrose University (IA), St. Norbert College (WI), and University of Indianapolis (IN).

Paderon Named CIC Senior Advisor

Eduardo Paderon is serving as CIC Senior Advisor to assist in planning the 2006 Institute for Chief Academic and Chief Student Affairs Officers. He was appointed following the death of CIC Senior Advisor Hutch Bearce this summer. Paderon is professor of business and philosophy at Georgian Court University. He served a four-year term on the CIC CAO Task Force and chaired the Task Force during 2004-2005. He was provost at Georgian Court University for four years and, earlier, at the University of the Incarnate Word for six years. In his early career, Ed held various roles as a faculty member and administrator in several institutions of higher education, including Fordham University (NY), Manhattan College (NY), and Iona College (NY).

Davies-Jackson Scholarship Awarded

A graduating senior of Elizabethtown College (PA) has been selected to receive the Council of Independent Colleges 2006 Davies-Jackson Scholarship. J. Nathan Mathias will study English at St. John’s College of Cambridge University in Great Britain beginning this fall.

Mathias, who was home-educated through high school, graduated summa cum laude. A talented computer programmer, Mathias was an honors program participant, as well as trumpet section leader in the symphonic band. Mathias believes that “The study of literature binds together all human thought, art, and emotion. With literature, I can merge the creative, analytic, social, and spiritual parts of my life.” The Davies-Jackson Scholarship provides tuition and expenses for two years, and gives students with exceptional academic records and who are among the first in their families to graduate from college the opportunity to participate in a course of study at St. John’s. Candidates are awarded a Cambridge B.A. The Scholarship commemorates two Cambridge faculty members who provided opportunities for the anonymous donor when he was a young man at St. John’s.

Selection of next year’s Davies-Jackson scholar will be announced in January 2007. Application materials are available here and are due by November 13, 2006.

CIC Collaborates with EDUCAUSE on Regional Conferences

Again this coming year, CIC is working with EDUCAUSE to include a variety of sessions that are specifically designed for small and mid-sized independent colleges and universities in the 2007 EDUCAUSE Regional Conferences.

As in the past, each regional conference will include a discussion session on a topic of importance to the CIC community. Recent topics have included: “Security and Identity Management for Small Colleges” and “E-Portfolios for Small Colleges.” A second aspect of the conferences of particular interest to CIC participants will be the popular “birds of a feather” luncheon roundtable discussions, which provide opportunities to connect with other CIC members in the same region. Both of these sessions will take place during the second day of each Regional Conference.

The dates and locations of the 2007 EDUCAUSE Regional Conferences are as follows:

• Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, January 17–19, in Baltimore, MD
• Southwest Regional Conference, February 21–23, in Austin, TX
• Midwest Regional Conference, March 12–14, in Chicago, IL
• New England (NERCOMP) Regional Conference, March 19–21, in Worcester, Massachusetts
• Western Regional Conference, May 7–9, in San Francisco, CA
• Southeast Regional Conference, June 11–13, in Atlanta, GA 

For more information about the regional conferences, visit the EDUCAUSE website and scroll to the “Regional Conferences and Seminars” section. 

Court Finds in University's Favor on Faculty Unions

A U.S. Court of Appeals announced in August its ruling on a dispute over Point Park University’s (PA) faculty union, a case in which CIC signed an amicus curiae brief in support of the university’s opposition to collective bargaining rights for the faculty. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found in Point Park’s favor, requiring the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to explain its conclusion that faculty there have collective bargaining rights. Point Park’s faculty in 2004 voted to join the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh/Communications Workers of America. The university has opposed the faculty unionization, on the grounds that faculty members are managers who are not covered by the National Labor Relations Act; the NLRB argues that faculty members are professional employees and thus eligible for union protection. The court’s decision, the latest twist in a three-year-long dispute, likely means the issue will continue to be argued.

CIC in the News

Several opinion pieces by CIC President Richard Ekman have been published recently, including “The Books Google Could Open” in the August 22 edition of the Washington Post in support of the value of Google’s Book Search project to small colleges, and “Taking the Pulse of the Humanities” in the July 2006 edition of University Business urging the federal government to play a greater role in tracking humanities indicators. In addition, Ekman was interviewed for an article on “Brain Power—Complete Guide to the State’s Best College and University Programs” in the September 2006 edition of Milwaukee Magazine, and was quoted in an Inside Higher Ed story, “The Next Frontier” (August 4, 2006), on the plan to start a private, liberal arts college in the city of Goodyear (AZ).

Staff News and Notes

Sarah Stoycos joined the CIC staff as program officer in September. In this new position, her initial assignments will include working on the Division and Department Chair Workshops, the Transformation of the College Library Workshops, and the Learning Spaces Workshop, as well as other program and grants-related activities. From 2002 to 2006, Sarah was an assistant professor of music at Centre College (KY). She holds a BA degree from Bowdoin College (ME) and also has served as a visiting instructor there. Her PhD, in musicology, was earned at Washington University in St. Louis (MO).

Several CIC staff members have been recently promoted. Frederik Ohles has been named senior vice president and will oversee external relations, development, communications, membership, and other areas.

Christoph Kunkel will assume the title of chief of operations, coordinating the work of the president’s office, CIC’s new association database implementation, and administrative activities.

August Adams has been promoted to communications and web manager in recognition of his growing responsibilities for the CIC website, writing and editing, and assisting in other communications activities.

Director of Research Hal Hartley was selected as a Fellow for the 2006 Summer Data Policy Institute by the Association for Institutional Research. The Institute, held June 25 to July 2, provided in-depth training on the use of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and National Science Foundation (NSF) databases.

CIC President Richard Ekman served as keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the trustees of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges on May 23.

A book chapter by Frederik Ohles, CIC’s senior vice president, has recently been chosen for inclusion in a standard reference work. “The Logic of Censorship” appears in Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism, volume 156, published in August 2006 by the Gale Group. The chapter appeared first in Ohles’ book, Germany’s Rude Awakening: Censorship in the Land of the Brothers Grimm (1992).