Prospective college presidents and their spouses gathered in mid-July for a four-day seminar to commence CIC’s 2007–2008 Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission program. The meeting was held July 15–18 at Glendorn, a retreat setting in the wooded mountains of north-central Pennsylvania. A follow-up session will be held February 25–26, 2008, in Atlanta, Georgia.

The seminar is designed to help participants think deeply about their own sense of vocation or calling, the significance of mission in a college or university they might lead, and the connections between personal vocation and institutional mission. Drawing upon a series of pre-event readings—from Aristotle and Kant to Dorothy Sayers and Malcolm X—participants considered such questions as, “What are the distinguishing attributes of vocation?” and “What sustains the zest of the college or university president?” Burton Clark’s concept of organizational saga was a particularly potent construct for understanding institutional mission.

The seminar was structured as a series of plenary sessions in which the central topics were considered, along with a variety of small-group discussions for more in-depth conversation. Participants also had opportunities for one-on-one conversations with program facilitators to consider more personal dimensions of the topics and areas for continued exploration in the coming year.

The 19 participating prospective presidents—each nominated by a CIC member president—serve in a variety of senior administrative roles, including chief academic, finance, student affairs, and advancement officers. Seventeen spouses also participated in the seminar. (See the participants list below.)

The project director is William Frame, president emeritus of Augsburg College (MN) and CIC senior advisor. Other facilitators included current CIC presidents Joel Cunningham, University of the South (TN), Mary Ann Dillon, RSM, Mount Aloysius College (PA), and Jake Schrum, Southwestern University (TX). Two presidential spouses, Trudy Cunningham and Anne Frame, also served as facilitators.

While the program is designed for individuals who are considering whether to seek a college or university presidency, it is not a typical “how-to” program for those entering the search process. Rather than focus on the mechanics of search firms, application materials, and interviews, CIC’s Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission program for prospective presidents focuses on the motivations for wanting to be a president and how best to achieve alignment, or fit, between one’s own sense of vocation and the mission of the institution one might lead.

Now in its third year, the Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission program appears to be having an impact on the presidencies of small and mid-sized independent colleges and universities. To date, more than 60 prospective presidents, along with their spouses, have participated in the program. Already, seven participants in the prospectives program have been appointed as college presidents. An additional 28 presidents and 21 spouses have participated in the parallel program for current presidents. Another seminar for presidents and spouses will be held in 2008–2009 (see box above). This program is generously supported by a grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc.

More information is available here or by contacting Harold V. Hartley III, vice president for research and evaluation, at hhartley@cic.nche.edu or (202) 466-7230.