This year’s Presidents Institute is traveling to a new venue—the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa in Tucson, Arizona. Under the theme of “The Anticipatory President and the 21st Century Campus,” major Institute presentations will address international issues, higher education economics, institutional planning, and the future of science.

George Rupp will deliver the keynote address on “Higher Education and Society: The International Dimension.” He is currently president of the International Rescue Committee in New York, having previously served as president of Columbia and Rice Universities and dean of the Harvard Divinity School. His new book, Globalization Challenged, will be published this fall (and will be available at the Institute). The book focuses on the standoff between traditional cultures of conviction and Western secular individualism, and argues that neither position is viable any longer. Western secularism must acknowledge the legitimate role of religion in influencing public policy, Rupp believes, while convictions that appeal to absolute authorities must be subjected to comparative appraisal. In support of his argument, he provides examples from Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan—places where the International Rescue Committee operates. He calls for a sense of community that is inclusive without denying the validity of particular commitments and his presentation at the Institute will draw implications for U.S. higher education from this work.

Rita Colwell, who served as the director of the National Science Foundation from 1998 to 2004, will explore the implications for independent colleges and universities of emerging developments in science, engineering, and mathematics education and research. She is currently a distinguished professor at both the University of Maryland College Park and The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Chairman of Canon U.S. Life Sciences, Inc.

Michael Dolence, a leading consultant to colleges, universities, and associations, nationally as well as internationally, on curriculum-centered strategic planning and enrollment management, is the author of Strategic Choices for the Academy: How Demand for Lifelong Learning Will Re-Create Higher Education; Strategic Change in Colleges and Universities; and Working Toward Strategic Change: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Planning Process. Earlier he founded the New York State Public Opinion Poll and conducted policy analyses for the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities in New York. A number of presidents will remember his exuberant presentation at the Institute ten years ago.

The closing plenary session will offer a platform for three economist-presidents to share their forecasts of the financial future of independent higher education. James Doti, president of Chapman University (CA), recently published an article on college and university pricing power. Michael McPherson, president of the Spencer Foundation and former president of Macalester College (MN), and Morton Schapiro, president of Williams College (MA), have recently edited College Access: Opportunity or Privilege?, which examines current research on students from low-income families or who are the first in their families to attend college.

Immediately following the Institute, from 12:30–6:00 p.m. on January 7, CIC will hold a special workshop on Comprehensive Campaigns. The program is a concentrated (one afternoon only) version of a highly successful post-Institute workshop on this topic that was held five years ago. Since so many institutions are engaged in some phase of capital campaigns—planning, implementing, or completing—at any given time, it was decided to offer the workshop again. Presidents often seek advice on the “science” of evolving campaign techniques and strategies as well as the “art” of establishing effective relationships with boards, development officers, and consultants. The topics of this workshop will include pre-campaign planning; the feasibility study; major donor “moves management”; roles of the president, vice president for advancement, and board; and records and prospect research. The Comprehensive Campaigns workshop is conducted in cooperation with the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and presidents may invite their chief advancement officer to participate with them in this post-Institute event.

Among the concurrent sessions to be offered during the Presidents Institute:

Data, Accreditation, and the Balance between
Public Accountability and Institutional Improvement
Judith Eaton, President, Council for Higher Education Accreditation
Judson Carlberg, President, Gordon College (MA)

Deciding Whether and How to Engage in Online Education
William Fox, President, Culver-Stockton College (MO)
Arthur Kirk, President, Saint Leo University (FL)

The President and the Optimized Admissions Program:
What Presidents Should Expect, What Presidents Must Do
Nathan Mueller, Principal, Hardwick~Day
Pamela Jolicoeur, President, Concordia College (Moorhead, MN)

Applying Larger University Fundraising Techniques
to Smaller Institutions
Kerry Romesburg, President, Jacksonville University
John Sellars, President, Drury University (MO)

National Media Perspectives on Higher Education
Dan Golden, Deputy Bureau Chief, Boston, The Wall Street Journal
Jane Karr, Education Life Editor,The New York Times
Tim Goral, Editor, University Business Magazine

Update on Legal Issues
Stephen Bahls, President, Augustana College (IL)
Kent Weeks, Principal, Weeks, Anderson, and Baker

Engaging All Constituencies in the Planning Process
Wendy Libby, President, Stephens College (MO)
Stephen MacDonald, President, Lebanon Valley College (PA)
Wayne Powell, President, Lenoir-Rhyne College (NC)

Preparing for and Reacting to Crises
Trudie Kibbe Reed, Bethune-Cookman College (FL)
David Pollick, President, Birmingham-Southern College (AL)
Joan Hinde Stewart, President, Hamilton College (NY)

Educating Trustees and the Campus:
Uses of Data in Decision-Making
Beverley Byers-Pevitts, President, Park University (MO)
G.T. Smith, President, Bethany College (WV)
Michael Williams, President, The Austen Group

Internationalizing through Recruitment and Exchanges
Loren Anderson, President, Pacific Lutheran University (WA)
Larry Goodwin, President, The College of Saint Scholastica (MN)
Erik Nielsen, President, Franklin College of Switzerland

A “Second Presidency” at the Same Institution
James Davis, President, Shenandoah University (VA)
Theodore Long, President, Elizabethtown College (PA)

Steering by Rankings: Destiny or Opportunity
John Strassburger, President, Ursinus College (PA)
Lloyd Thacker, Executive Director, The Education Conservancy
Robert Weisbuch, President, Drew University (NJ)

Assessing and Making the Case for General and
Liberal Education
Ronald Crutcher, President, Wheaton College (MA)
Edwin Welch, President, University of Charleston (WV)

Registration forms and more information about the Presidents Institute and the post-Institute workshop on capital campaigns are available here.