The Executive Leadership Academy (ELA) is a yearlong program cosponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), and the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI) to prepare experienced provosts and vice presidents to become successful presidents or move up to positions of greater responsibility. By completing the program, participants will have acquired considerable knowledge, skills, and experiences that are germane to the portfolio of responsibilities and activities central to the work of a president or other senior leader. Participants remain in their current positions during the program.
The Need for Highly Qualified Presidential Candidates
Several issues affect future leadership needs of the academy: the aging of the current generation of presidents; the reports of search consultants that candidate pools in presidential searches are becoming smaller; the increasing complexity of the president’s role; and the reluctance of some boards of trustees to select candidates without substantive and demonstrated experience in the full complement of responsibilities of the presidency. Those responsibilities have changed significantly in recent years. The president’s role, as well as that of other senior administrators, now requires some understanding of all aspects of the institution—from enrollment to endowment management and from governmental to alumni relations—not to mention athletics, fundraising, marketing, student affairs, strategic planning, and financial management. The president’s necessary expertise also has expanded beyond the institutional borders. Candidates with at least some knowledge of and experience in the range of responsibilities of the presidency are seen by boards of trustees and search committees as better qualified and better able to assume leadership quickly and to have a positive impact on the institution.
The ELA program was incredibly helpful to me in reaching my career goals. I believe my ascendency to the presidency is a direct result of learning about what gaps in experience I had along with encouragement and practical ways to fill those gaps. We can’t know what we don’t know when walking into these complex positions, yet the ELA enabled me to think about the presidency in realistic ways.”—Richanne C. Mankey, ELA 2012–2013, President, Defiance College