Through
seminars, small group discussions, individual consultations, and
extensive reading, a team of facilitators—experienced presidents and
their spouses—guide participants in this inquiry over the course of one
year.Program participants gather twice for group
seminars. The first seminar takes place over four days in the summer,
and the second lasts for a day and a half in the winter. Participants
read assigned materials in advance of each seminar. Each participating
individual or couple also has at least three telephone consultations
with members of the facilitator team spaced out over the program year.
Many
practical aspects of the presidential search process deliberately are
not part of this program. We do not practice interviewing or meet with
search consultants. Other programs do those things well. What we
intentionally do is read, reflect, discuss, discern, and talk about the
applications of these activities to each participant’s life and career.
The purpose is to help participants gain a better understanding of how
to discern both an institution’s mission and their own calling.
Theresa
and I greatly enjoyed the depth and thoroughness of the program: the
readings, the facilitators, and our new colleagues all made a meaningful
difference. The insights shared in the seminar and the ready advice in
the years following were invaluable throughout the search process, and
in commencing a presidency. This program is the premier venue for
discerning a call to service as a president.”
—John McKeegan,
President, Mount Aloysius College and former Vice President for
Institutional Advancement and General Counsel, Linfield University
Sample Seminar Topics
The seminar topics and readings vary
each year. These past examples illustrate the program’s distinctive
approach to the process of considering a college presidency.
Early in the Summer Seminar, participants meet in small groups to discuss texts such as:
- Mary Catherine Bateson, “Composing a Life Story” (book excerpt); and
- Robert Frost, “Two Tramps in Mud Time” (poem).
The discussion focuses on understandings of vocation. Participants consider questions such as: How do we discern our callings?
Several
times in the summer gathering, participants meet in a large group. The
topics on these occasions include the nature of a college presidency,
the support presidents receive from their communities, and the
importance of presidents aligning themselves with an institutional
mission. Participants are informed by texts such as:
- Jill Ker Conway, “A Different Choice” (book excerpt);
- Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Mecca and the Death of Mythology” (book excerpt); and
- Abraham Lincoln, “Second Inaugural Address” (speech).
Discussion questions include: What will help us decide where we go and when?
Other
authors include diverse voices, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Eboo
Patel, Abigail and John Adams, Aristotle, Louise Erdrich, Henri Nouwen,
Amy Tan, Dorothy Sayers, Thomas Merton, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Vincent
Harding. The readings are deliberately eclectic—including the ancient
and modern, the contemporary and classic, spiritual and secular—and are
analytical, reflective, and creative.
Program Facilitators
Program Director
Frederik Ohles, president emeritus of Nebraska Wesleyan University (2007–2019)
Program Facilitators
These individuals served as facilitators for the 2021–2022
program. CIC will announce the facilitators for the 2022–2023 program in
spring 2022.
Jane Easter Bahls, presidential spouse, Augustana College (IL) (since 2003)
Steven C. Bahls, president, Augustana College (IL) (since 2003)
Donna M. Carroll, president emerita, Dominican University (IL) (1994–2021)
Alan Cottrell, presidential spouse, Texas Lutheran University (since 2019)
Debbie Cottrell, president, Texas Lutheran University (since 2019)
Harry Dumay, president, Elms College (since 2017)
Maggie Dumay, presidential spouse, Elms College (since 2017)
Rosemary Ohles, former presidential spouse, Nebraska Wesleyan University (2007–2019)