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.
Sarah brings more than 20 years of experience in industry and academia, and in her current role, she works with the three universities in the University of Illinois system on common academic issues. Her success depends on relationship-building, collaboration, negotiation, and (occasionally) a gift for managing conflict. Sarah also serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she teaches the introductory course on higher education for graduate students as well as a graduate course on student affairs administration. Her research interests include experiential learning and its impact on student learning outcomes, with a particular focus on internships, cooperative education, and apprenticeships. Previously, Sarah held several successive leadership roles at the Urbana-Champaign campus, including MBA admissions, student programs, career services, public engagement, and corporate and international relations. Prior to joining academia, Sarah worked in consulting, where she served a rich assortment of diverse clients on various business issues. She also led strategy for an innovative nonprofit organization that aimed to improve leadership in Chicago Public Schools. Sarah earned a BS in Finance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, an MBA focusing on strategy, organizational behavior, management, and marketing from Northwestern University’s […]
Start with Yourself. Unlock Your Leadership Strengths. Whether you’re managing projects, coaching others, or building your leadership identity, this path helps you lead with greater awareness, clarity, and adaptability. These self-guided resources are designed to meet you where you are—helping you deepen your self-awareness and apply practical strategies in your day-to-day leadership. This learning experience is ideal for: Individual contributors and rising leaders Team leads and frontline managers Department chairs, program directors, and supervisors Take the Five Paths Self-Assessment Included in membership or available for individual purchase. MEMBERS Take the Assessment NON-MEMBERS Purchase the Assessment Learn How to Interpret and Apply Your Results Attend a Live Debrief Session with a trained facilitator (recommended). Register for the September Debrief ➞ Register for the October Debrief ➞ Watch the On-Demand Overview Course at your own pace. View On-Demand Video Course ➞ Not a member? Start with the Free Webcast. View the Free Webcast ➞ Build Real-World Leadership Skills Turn insights into impact with our self-guided Leadership Skills Course—designed to help you apply the Five Paths to Leadership® to everyday leadership challenges like delegation, feedback, meetings, and more. This flexible, on-demand course features: Short, self-paced lessons you can complete on your own schedule […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
