University Business - March 2010 - (Page 52)

Paths to the Presidency new role and project themselves as ready for new ideas and change, while at the same time not highlighting shortcomings of the current administration. “It’s an interesting contradiction,” he explains. And not every institution is open to the idea. Courtice has worked with search committees that “go on record at the outset saying we must consider the external candidate pool exclusively,” he says. FIVE REASONS TO ASPIRE TO THE PRESIDENCY 1. A president’s life is far from dull. “These are great jobs,” says Richard Ekman of the Council of Independent Colleges. “They’re really stimulating and challenging. Anybody who’s got a well-rounded personality would ﬁnd them exciting.” 2. It’s more than just a job. Presidents “are obviously working hard to make things go well, but they’re also absolutely devoted, absolutely committed, and absolutely gratiﬁed with the work they’re doing,” says Thomas Courtice of Academic Search. 3. It’s a chance to make a real impact. “People are drawn to the opportunity to make a difference, whether it’s to turn around a struggling college, to raise a stable institution to the next level, optimize their curriculum, or build new programs,” says John Thornburgh from the search ﬁrm Witt/Kieffer. “The strongest leaders are those who want to accomplish something, not just run something.” 4. The role is unique. “A president is really the crosspoint between internal and external [constituencies]. … People are really intrigued when they realize how they bridge those different worlds,” says Claire Sterk of Emory University’s Academic Leadership Program. “I think it’s very appealing.” 5. The journey there is eye-opening. Jacqueline King at the American Council on Education notes that aspiring presidents must begin developing “professional networks that are going to get you noticed, both on your campus and nationwide.” Ready for the Role Higher ed associations and many individual institutions are establishing leadership development programs, in part to help ensure the candidate pool never dries up. Academic Leadership for the 21st Century, launched in 2009 by CIC in partnership with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, is one such eﬀort. e yearlong program prepares CAOs, who often lack experience in nonacademic aspects of campus leadership, to serve as eﬀective presidents. It involves in-person seminars and structured individual activities, including conversations with leaders at a nearby campus, explains Hartley. Ekman shares that a few participants in the current group were already at the point of applying for presidential roles and now they are approaching their searches diﬀerently. For example, some CAOs don’t realize how a resume emphasizing curriculum development isn’t highlighting “the things that matter the most as a candidate for president,” he explains. Others who have had no experience in fundraising have asked their presidents to get some practice in that area (a welcome request, no doubt). CIC has also begun developing a new leadership program aimed at academic administrators at levels below the CAO, as well as an analysis of ACE data about patterns that got people to the CAO position, Ekman reports. “We’ll see what that suggests about going on to the presidency.” ACE eﬀorts include the Spectrum Initiative, which aims to advance diversity in the college presidency. “We want to ensure the presidential search process is widely inclusive,” says Diana Cordova, director of ACE’s Center for Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Equity. As part of that initiative, her team will create and share some video interviews on the joys of the presidency. “We want to provide some role models—a diverse group of presidents doing a great job.” When presidents saw the data on how many provosts aren’t aspiring to become presidents, they said, “Maybe we’re focusing too much on the negative, because I love what I do,” explains Cordova. A toolkit for presidents interested in setting up campus leadership development programs is also in the works. It will include examples of successful programs, including the Alabama Community College Leadership Academy, Penn State’s Leadership Academy, and the Academic Leadership Program at Emory University in Atlanta. Emory’s eﬀort, which began in fall 2008, was “triggered by the shifting landscape in higher education,” says Claire Sterk, senior 52 | March 2010 vice provost for academic aﬀairs and the program’s director. “ ere was a healthy level of sensitivity to always being prepared to ask the question, ‘If a person were to leave, do we have a succession plan in place?’ ” Some participants currently hold leadership positions and some are aspiring administrators. ey “get a feel for how the culture of faculty life across the institution really diﬀers,” Sterk says. And through self-analysis, they reﬂect on their goals. Some are “very surprised to realize [a president] is something they know they could aspire to become,” she says. Others who may have wanted to become upper administrators realize they would be happiest in academic aﬀairs. e program includes conversations about what a university should look for in a president. Examining some recently appointed presidents helps participants realize that being a strong academic is not necessarily the only way to a presidency, Sterk says. Although Emory leaders hope its next generation of academic leaders will thrive within the institution, Sterk notes that it’s ﬁne if they decide to pursue opportunities elsewhere. “You want to develop people and then you want them to land in the best place possible.” universitybusiness.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - March 2010

University Business - March 2010
Contents
Editor’s Note
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Behind the News
Sense of Place
Financial Aid
Human Resources
Viewpoint
Money Matters
Community Colleges as Economic Saviors
Web Content Needs - Solved
Paths to the Presidency
What’s New
End Note

University Business - March 2010