With 15 years of fundraising and volunteer management experience, Leitha has built a career on cultivating strong relationships, developing and leading dynamic teams, and establishing foundational programs that result in high performing teams and philanthropic growth. As a development professional with a background in organizational leadership and executive coaching, she enjoys training, inspiring, and cultivating staff, volunteers, executives, and boards in order to bring out the best in people and reach new philanthropic heights. Leitha has experience with all aspects of fundraising including annual funds, events, planned giving, capital projects, comprehensive campaigns, and major and principal gifts within national organizations, private education, and public post-secondary institutions. Her passion is twofold: developing solid fundraising skills within a team (including her own) and making truly rewarding philanthropic matches between donors and the causes they care most about. Most recently, she worked for seven years at the University of Calgary on the Energize Campaign. The institution raised $1.4 billion and Energize was Canada’s third largest post-secondary campaign at the time. She joined the University of Victoria in June 2021 and returned to her beautiful home province of British Columbia. Leitha’s passion for education is realized in her work at the University of Victoria […]
Why so many abrupt presidential exits? And how can we prevent them?
The only book of its kind, From Presidential Transition to Integration is a practical, in-depth handbook to setting up a college or university presidency for success. It’s a must-read for aspiring presidents, transition committees, and boards.
Get copies for your entire committee: Order 10 or more copies and receive a $25 discount on every copy you purchase.
Books are shipped within 7 days of receipt of payment. For immediate receipt of book, order PDF copy.
A SERIES ON INNOVATIONS IN FUNDING ACADEMIC RESEARCH We hope you will join us for this innovative series: The “3C” Strategy for More Effective Fundraising Advancement and research offices can optimize their strategies to compete successfully for external funds by utilizing the “3C” approach. The “3C” approach is: Strategies for Enhanced Communication Over several decades, advancement and research offices have developed distinctly different approaches for fundraising. Advancement’s role is to procure gifts from donors who have very specific interests in funding priorities. Research works with faculty to compete for grants for specific scientific, outreach and training programs. Also, there are distinct “global” perspectives on each office role in working with their constituencies. Planning, facilitation and open discussions are vital to creating enhanced communication between the two offices. This is a new endeavor for many institutions, so take the time — whether it is 3 months or 1 year — to develop good rapport between your offices. To bridge this gap: Effective Collaboration Strategies Improved communication between advancement and research offices creates opportunities to pursue new funding sources. An effective collaborative model is composed of: Coordination Strategies for Advancement and Research The goal of successfully coordinating grants and gifts is to […]
The silo mentality that often exists on our campuses often limits our collective actions, and creates redundancy and replication. Given shrinking resources and the rapid pace of change, the siloed approach to team building and decision making is neither strategic nor feasible. We must work collaboratively to utilize the collective talents of our campus stakeholders. And learning to build high performing teams is one of the most effective ways we can meet the many challenges that confront us. If a senior leader can build a stellar team, the organizational leverage that can be achieved is powerful and can be a game changer for a campus. In this scenario: Stakeholders understand that cross-boundary collaboration is expected and supported by the actions of the senior team, because they model the way. Campuses are able to solve complex challenges because people work together to manage these challenges. People share resources, ideas, attention and effort, recognizing that the team, not just some individuals on it, really matter in serving the mission and vision of their campus. We have had the opportunity to work with scores of senior teams in higher education. Almost always, these teams were comprised of highly intelligent, dedicated, honest, and mission-driven individuals. But […]
A SERIES ON INNOVATIONS IN FUNDING ACADEMIC RESEARCH Ed Mason, president of EMNR & Associates, is writing this series to assist academic leaders in finding creative strategies to merge public/private funding for existing and new research initiatives. Mason has studied an array of collaborative partnerships between the two offices most focused on external funding (the development office and research & grants), and he will be sharing some of the models he has observed, as well as directions for the future. We hope you will join us for this innovative series: In the traditional model for funding academic research at universities, multiple offices and departments interact with faculty in the administration of grants and gifts from external donors. Commonly, these offices do not interact frequently or communicate effectively with each other, which tends to create a “silo” effect. By moving instead to a team science model for defining and funding research initiatives, you will: What is Team Science, and What Does it Mean to Researchers and Development Officers? Team science is a proven model that creates partnerships between researchers, advancement professionals, and other key stakeholders at your institution. It involves developing strong collaborative teams who will be able to compete and successfully procure funding for high-priority research […]
“We’re already seeing … you tell someone to cover their nose with their mask and they roll their eyes at you. Our staff have a lot of anxiety. But we’re all in this together.” “We need students to physically distance and stay safe, and to wear masks, but the academic library is not set up to be, and doesn’t need to be, the ‘COVID police’; what do we do?” by Daniel Fusch, Academic Impressions In mid-August, we held a four-hour virtual workshop in which academic library leaders from across North America convened to share challenges and strategies as they prepare for the fall. Amid all the uncertainty and unpredictability, one thing is clear: For many institutions, the academic library – long core to both the academic and social life of the campus – is only going to be more critical this fall. This is the case both for institutions that have a reopened physical campus and for institutions that are primarily virtual, at which the academic library may be one of the few sites on campus that remains open to the campus community. Our virtual workshops are unique in providing a space where participants can connect with their peers and leading […]
Is it time to launch that new academic program? Here is the ‘art’ and ‘science’ of answering that question.
Academic Entrepreneurship walks you through strategies for identifying, creating, and growing the right academic programs – both the mindset needed and the practical steps. Included in the book are templates, samples, worksheets, and case studies.
Empower entrepreneurship across your institution or system: Order 10 or more copies and receive a $10 discount on every copy you purchase.
Books are shipped within 7 days of receipt of payment. For immediate receipt of book, order PDF copy.
When I served in a cabinet-level leadership role, my leadership style was rooted in my belief that success was determined by strategy, collaboration, and execution alone. I had a clear vision and a strong sense of responsibility, but what I did not realize at the time was that there was a powerful tool – leadership coaching – that could amplify my effectiveness in ways I could not anticipate. Looking back, I can’t help but wonder how much smoother some challenges would have been, how much more I could have developed as a leader, and how much stronger my team could have become, if I had embraced coaching earlier. With the benefit of hindsight, rooted in my growing knowledge of coaching, I am confident that leadership coaching would have been an invaluable asset – both for my own growth and the success of my team. This is the power of coaching: the ability to unlock untapped potential, overcome obstacles with greater ease, and evolve as a leader in ways that go beyond what I can do on my own. Higher education is facing profound challenges. Our students, institutions, and communities are grappling with uncertainty, burnout, and ongoing crises. The world is […]
I support faculty and leaders in crafting a clear vision, navigating conflict, and building buy-in—empowering them to manage change, align their purpose with personal growth, and drive meaningful success on their campuses. With over two decades of experience across small regional universities and large public and private R1 institutions, Kevin has navigated the challenges of leadership at every level, serving as a faculty member, assistant chair, research coordinator, director, and dean. Throughout his career, he has focused on coaching and leadership development to cultivate the skills needed to drive change and serve others. As a classically trained musician, Kevin brings a unique perspective to leadership and change management, emphasizing the power of creativity and teamwork in driving progress. The soft skills he honed as an artist—discipline, collaboration, adaptability, connection, and creative problem-solving—help him navigate the complexities of higher education, from managing diverse teams to guiding institutions through organizational change. Kevin is a certified coach through the International Coaching Federation and partners with academic leaders to tackle their most pressing challenges: Through coaching, Kevin helps his clients uncover roadblocks, embrace new perspectives, and move toward their goals. He believes in a collaborative process that fosters self-discovery and empowerment, enabling leaders to […]
Especially for those who are deliberate planners by nature, the rapid velocity and pressure of the current crisis can be turbulent. In this article, the president of the Hollins University offers higher-ed leaders the perspective of five leadership lessons or gifts that we can (re)learn in the midst of this chaotic moment. by Mary Hinton, President, Hollins University (recently President of the College of Saint Benedict) Existing in a Space of Chaos I am, by nature, a planner. As a college president, and in many other jobs I’ve held, strategic planning has been central to my work. Visioning, thoughtful deliberation and the opportunity to engage in proactive scenario planning and pitfall analysis are my favorite types of work. Suffice it to say, this year has challenged my nature in every way. Like many leaders, I find myself not only needing to rapidly think through what is best for my own campus community but also needing to react quickly to declarations and decisions coming from the federal and state governments, the state department of health, and other college leaders. For nearly everyone, and especially for those of us who thrive on deliberate planning, this season has been punishing. This crisis has […]
