CIC’s 31st annual Institute for Chief Academic Officers, to be held November 1-4, 2003, in Savannah, Georgia, will explore “Leadership Challenges: Competition, Resources, and Excellence.”
     “The leadership roles of chief academic officers at private colleges and universities are shifting. CAOs are increasingly concerned to learn about new ways to provide a high-quality education despite limited resources and growing competition,” said CIC President Richard Ekman. “This conference will provide a forum for CAOs to explore how to take on these new roles and balance competing priorities.”
     Participants in the conference will focus on what independent institutions are doing to compete with both public institutions and for-profit providers of higher education—for students, faculty members, and financial resources. They will analyze tuition and financial aid policies that are intended to attract students who fit the institutional mission, and they will discuss ways to ensure that resources are used in the most effective way through strategic budgeting and building effective partnerships with chief financial officers. To preserve and increase educational excellence, the CAOs will explore programs that deepen student learning, new offerings that meet the goals of today’s students, and the findings of educational research that strengthen curricular and co-curricular offerings.
     Featured speakers at the Institute include Kent John Chabotar, president and professor of political science at Guilford College (NC), David W. Breneman, dean of the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, Esther Barazzone, president of Chatham College (PA), and Susan Resneck Pierce, president emerita of University of Puget Sound (WA).

David W. Breneman, an authority on the finance and economics of higher education, will deliver the keynote address. During his three decades of experience in higher education, Breneman has served as president of Kalamazoo College, visiting professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and think-tank scholar at the Brookings Institution. Currently dean of the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, his publications include Finance in Higher Education, Liberal Arts Colleges: Thriving, Surviving, or Endangered?, and Strategies for Promoting Excellence in a Time of Scarce Resources.

Kent John Chabotar, president and professor of political science at Guilford College, will receive the CIC Academic Leadership Award for his service to independent college and university chief academic officers. His address on "Strategic Budgeting" will emphasize academic issues, discuss the involvement of faculty members in the budget process, and explain the role of academic officers in budget decisions. Chabotar is the author of many books, monographs, and articles, including New Yardsticks to Measure Financial Distress, Financial Responsibilities of the Board, and Strategic Finance and Endowment Management (due for publication late in 2003).

Esther L. Barazzone, who began her service as president of Chatham College in 1992, was vice president of academic affairs and dean at Philadelphia University (PA) for the prior five years. She began her academic career as a faculty member in history at Hamilton College (NY) and Kirkland College. Her publications include "Back From the Brink: Combining Tradition and Innovations in a Quest for Revitalization," "Women Studying: The Politics of Educating Women," and "Think Globally, Act Locally: Chatham College Initiatives.”

Susan Resneck Pierce, president emerita of the University of Puget Sound, led the University from 1992 to 2003 to a highly respected place among national liberal arts colleges. Prior to coming to Puget Sound, Pierce served as academic vice president at Lewis and Clark College (OR), as dean of the college of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tulsa (OK), and as assistant director of the Division of Education Programs at the National Endowment for the Humanities. Pierce is the author of The Moral of the Story and many articles on American literature, and is co-editor of Approaches to Teaching Ellison's Invisible Man

In addition, Marie Joan Harris, CSJ, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Avila University (MO), will receive the 2003 Chief Academic Officer Award for contributions to her colleagues at private colleges and universities. Her service on the CIC CAO Task Force included chairing the group. She has been a member of the advisory board of KC REACHE, a distance-learning consortium in Kansas City, MO; and was a member of the board of trustees of Fontbonne University (MO). She has assisted her new colleagues by speaking at CIC’s New CAO Workshop and serving as a mentor.

     Concurrent sessions during the conference will focus on such issues as “Making the Case for Private Colleges and Universities: Asserting Value by Documenting Difference,” “Developing ‘Hallmarks’ for First-Year Programs: What are They and How Can CAOs Use Them?” and “The Strategic Use of Financial Aid to Meet Enrollment and Revenue Goals.” Other sessions will discuss preliminary findings of the Council for Aid to Education’s Collegiate Learning Assessment project, the challenges of implementing information literacy initiatives, and ways of creating excellence in science programs. CIC’s survey of historic architecture and design on campus (see related story) and a compilation of essays from campus presidents on their efforts to help students from low-income families succeed in college are two CIC projects that will also be on the program.
     Drawing conference thematic threads together in the concluding conference session, Esther Barazzone and Susan Resneck Pierce will discuss how they led institutional "turnarounds" based primarily on strengthening academic quality. They will explain their strategies, one based largely on creating new programs, the other based largely on eliminating programs that detracted from the core liberal arts mission of the institution.
Two workshops will help CAOs address financial concerns. A pre-conference workshop on Saturday, November 1, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. will assist teams of chief financial officers (CFOs) and CAOs in understanding the key issues and perspectives of the other role, examining the problem-solving approaches each uses, and learning about effective means of working together to strengthen the institution. Jane Jakoubek, vice president and dean of academic affairs at Hanover College (IN), and John Palmucci, vice president for administration and finance and corporate treasurer of Loyola College in Maryland, will be the co-leaders.
     A second workshop on “The CAO and the Budget” is designed for experienced as well as new CAOs, to help participants gain a greater understanding of the budget process as well as financial statements and reports. Topics will include: the essential elements and timeline for the budget process; difficulties CAOs and CFOs encounter in preparing the budget; and providing effective oversight of the budget process. This workshop, led by Carole T. Coleman, vice president for finance and administration, Saint John’s University (MN) and Charles Perkins, provost and executive vice president, Alvernia College (PA), will be held November 3, 2:00-5:30 p.m.

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Last updated: March 2003
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