CIC recently announced selections for the 2019–2020 cohorts of the Executive Leadership Academy (ELA) and Senior Leadership Academy (SLA) (see the participant lists below). Individuals chosen for the yearlong ELA program are vice presidents or other cabinet officers who aspire to be successful college or university presidents or to perform more effectively in their current positions. Individuals chosen for the SLA program are mid-level administrators or outstanding faculty leaders in CIC member institutions who have been identified by their institutions as having the potential for senior leadership positions in independent colleges or universities.

Both the ELA and SLA include two national seminars, readings, webinars, structured mentorship guidance, and considerable emphasis on individualized experiential activities. The programs provide participants opportunities to learn about the real issues that will confront them as they advance in their careers, to reflect on their own abilities and experiences, and to seek the positions for which they are best suited.

The ELA and SLA are made possible through the generous support of Academic Search. CIC partners with the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI) to offer the SLA and with both AALI and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) to offer the ELA.

An exciting new development in the evolution of ELA and SLA is the offer by AALI, which is generously supported by Academic Search, to assist in CIC’s efforts to increase both the gender and the racial and ethnic diversity of qualified and well- prepared leaders of independent colleges and universities. AALI is doing so by subsidizing the cost of ELA and SLA participation with a fellowship that covers the full fee for participants and a scholarship toward the cost of travel or lodging for two CIC participants in the ELA and six participants in the SLA. The AALI board will review the fellowship over the coming year and determine whether it can be a regular feature of the programs.

Upon learning that she had been selected for the 2019–2020 Senior Leadership Academy and an AALI Diversity Fellowship, a recipient recently remarked, “I am honored and grateful to have been selected for the Senior Leadership Academy as well as the AALI Diversity Fellowship. I look forward to what is sure to be a very valuable professional learning experience.”

CIC staff members believe that the availability of fellowship support through the generosity of AALI helped to attract a significant number of women and people of color to the pools of nominees. This year, 16 (or nearly 70 percent) of the ELA nominees were women, and six (25 percent) of the nominees were people of color. The selection committee extended invitations to participate to 17 candidates, including 13 women and five people of color. Among the 70 nominees for SLA, 39 were women, or over 55 percent of the nominees, and ten were people of color, or 14 percent of the nominees. The selection committee chose a total of 41 participants, including 22 women and seven people of color.

Nominations for the 2020–2021 ELA and SLA will open in September 2019. For more information, visit the ELA program site and the SLA program site.

2019–2020 CIC EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY PARTICIPANTs

2019–2020 SENIOR LEADERSHIP ACADEMY PARTICIPANTS