CIC will launch a celebration of its 50th anniversary during the 2006 Presidents Institute. The Council, originally known as the Council for the Advancement of Small Colleges, was formed in 1956 by a group of 52 college presidents to help their very small independent institutions gain accreditation; it evolved over the years into an association dedicated to supporting college and university leadership and advancing institutional excellence, and now numbers 544 members. Presidential Leadership and Vision: The Next 50 Years will be the theme of the January 4-7 Institute at the Registry Resort in Naples, Florida.
     This year’s meeting will include both reflection on the past 50 years and sessions that address key challenges and opportunities that presidents frequently encounter today and will surely face in the future. Speakers and sessions will address a range of issues such as:

Plenary session speakers include:

Linda A. Hill, Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, who will discuss the context for leadership and the development of leadership in higher education. At the Harvard Business School she is chair of the Organizational Behavior Unit, faculty chair of the Leadership Initiative, and faculty chair of the Young Presidents’ Organization Presidents’ Seminar. She is the author of Becoming a Manager: How New Managers Master the Challenges of Leadership (2003) and Becoming a Manager: Mastery of a New Identity (1992). Her presentation will draw on her work with a wide range of organizations, including Cabot Corporation, General Electric, IBM, Novo Nordisk, Molex International, the National Bank of Kuwait, and Morgan Stanley. She is a member of the board of trustees of Bryn Mawr College.

George Kuh, Chancellor’s Professor of Higher Education and director of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) at Indiana University, whose presentation will be based on a recent, in-depth study of learning activities at 20 institutions, including a number of private colleges and universities, reported in Student Success in College: Creating Conditions that Matter (2005). This study highlighted the key role that presidents play in establishing a climate of engaged learning on campuses.

James T. Laney, president emeritus of Emory University and former United States Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, who will address key moral challenges in higher education. He has also served as dean of the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, taught at Harvard University and Vanderbilt University, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.



Patti M. Peterson, executive director, Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) and vice president of the Institute of Inter-national Education, who will speak on internationalizing college and university campuses. CIES administers the Fulbright Scholar Program and has developed a range of partnerships between the public and private sectors to sponsor programs in education, science and technology, business, the environment, and the arts. Previously she was president of St. Lawrence University (NY) and Wells College (NY).

Concurrent presentations confirmed to date include:

State of the Practice in Enrollment Management
Dolph Henry, president, Tusculum College (TN); Michaelita Quinn, president, Executive Management Associates; and David Sallee, president, William Jewell College (MO)

Aligning College Admissions with Institutional Mission
Douglas Bennett, president, Earlham College (IN) and Lloyd Thacker, executive director, Education Conservancy

Ways that Presidents Can Encourage Engaged Learning
John Strassburger, president, Ursinus College (PA)

International Perspectives on American Higher Education
Ellen Hurwitz, president, American University-Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan)

Motivating Faculty and Staff to Undertake New Initiatives
Bryant Cureton, president, Elmhurst College (IL)

Transforming Educational Processes and Administrative Operations
Joseph Gilmour, president, Wilkes University (PA)

Is Your Fundraising Potential Limited by Alumni and Alumna Who are Not Wealthy?
Larry Earvin, president, Huston-Tillotson University (TX); Douglas Mason, partner, Gonser Gerber Tinker Stuhr; and Maryanne Stevens, president, College of Saint Mary (NE)

Deciding to Build “Green”
Richard Miller, president, Hartwick College (NY) and Michael Reagan, director of science and technology, Burt Hill Kosar Rittelman

Presidents and Trustees
Barbara Taylor, independent consultant and co-author of Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards (2004), Improving the Performance of Governing Boards (1996), and The Effective Board of Trustees (1991)

National Media Perspectives on Higher Education
June Kronholz, education writer, Wall Street Journal

Planning for Faculty and Staff Health Needs in Retirement
Kenneth Cool, executive director, Emeriti Retirement Health Solutions; Joel Cunningham, vice chancellor and president, University of the South (TN); Margaret Healy, senior advisor, Emeriti Retirement Health Solutions and president emerita, Rosemont College (PA); and Carol Ann Mooney, president, Saint Mary’s College (IN)

Implications of Sarbanes-Oxley for Higher Education
Dale Cassidy, director of education advisory services, PricewaterhouseCoopers and John Mattie, partner and national education practice leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers

     Immediately prior to the Presidents Institute, CIC will again sponsor a day-and-a-half New Presidents Program for recently appointed college leaders, typically in their first or second year. The presenters are experienced presidents, and the program also affords opportunities for new presidents (and spouses) to meet and share ideas. Sessions will include a welcome by Scott Miller, president, Wesley College (DE); an opening address by Roger H. Martin, president, Randolph-Macon College (VA); “Who We Are,” led by Rosemary Jeffries, RSM, president, Georgian Court University (NJ) and Walter Broadnax, president, Clark Atlanta University (GA); “The Presidency—Striving for Success,” Jay Lemons, president, Susquehanna University (PA); “Financial Fundamentals for the Small College or University,” Robert Pearce, president, Mount Mercy College (IA); “Working with the Board,” Douglas Orr, president, Warren Wilson College (NC) and Jacqueline Powers Doud, president, Mount St. Mary’s College (CA); “The President and Development: Fundamentals and Then Some,” Richard Artman, president, Siena Heights University (MI) and Marianne Inman, president, Central Methodist University (MO); and “You Got the Job, Now What?” William Luckey, president, Lindsey Wilson College (KY).
     In addition, CIC will sponsor the Presidential Spouses Program, which runs concurrently with the program for presidents and provides opportunities to share information and advice. Among the sessions: “Workshop for Spouses of New Presidents,” led by Daniel Bowman, presidential spouse, Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (VA); “A Variety of Models for Serving as Presidential Spouse,” Nancy Shinn, presidential spouse, Berea College (KY); “Recognition for the Work of the Presidential Spouse in the President’s Contract,” Raymond Cotton, vice president for higher education, ML Strategies LLC; and “Healthy Living for Presidential Spouses,” Sheryl Head, RN, director of corporate responsibility, Community Mercy Health Partners, and presidential spouse, Urbana University (OH).

Click here for registration materials and additional information about the conference.