As the Senior Director for Career Advising, Counseling & Education at the Florida Atlantic University Career Center, Brian Montalvo and his team help students build toward their futures by helping them gain or refine career readiness skills required to succeed into meaningful careers. Brian oversees a team of nationally credentialed career professionals who offer 1:1 service, career preparatory workshops/resources, career courses, soft skill education, as well as exploratory programs. Brian has been with the FAU Career Center since July 2006. Brian also teaches in the areas of Career Development, Counseling, and Strategies for College Success at both the graduate and undergraduate level, and he has published national and international articles, essays, and a book chapter on multiple career development topics. He regularly presents on career indecision and innovative career programming at international, national, state, and regional professional conferences. In addition, Brian served on the Board of Directors for the National Career Development Association as a Trustee for Higher Education Career Counselors and Specialist (2015-2017). Through this work, Brian had the chance to travel across the country and meet with many career practitioners. Brian earned an Ed.S in Counseling and Human Systems, an M.S. in Counseling & Human Systems with a […]
Dr. David Reed is the Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives at the University of Florida. He has been a driving force in the university’s AI Initiative, which began when the University was gifted academia’s fastest AI supercomputer worth over $65M. Reed has led the university’s effort to expand AI throughout the university, including creating and overseeing a dozen AI working groups. UF’s goal is to provide AI education to any student, regardless of their major or previous exposure to computer programming. UF also created a university-wide undergraduate certificate in AI so that students across the university can layer AI education on top of their current major. This dramatically increases the number of students getting AI experience, as well as the breadth of disciplines in which they are being trained. Reed established and currently leads the Artificial Intelligence Academic Initiative Center (AI2 Center), which supports the training of AI faculty, new AI course development, and student engagement in AI. The AI2 Center also oversees a five-year, multi-million-dollar project to expand AI offerings at the University of Florida. UF’s model of teaching AI to everyone is called “AI Across the Curriculum.” Reed and the AI2 Center are taking this innovative model of AI education to […]
Between 2011 and 2020, Eileen established and led Coastal Carolina University’s service excellence initiative, Feel the Teal®, created to enhance the university’s culture and become more service-oriented and focused on student success. She designed the service excellence program into eight training modules and oversaw all operations within the initiative. Eileen taught university employees and others how to deliver better service within higher education. In 2019 alone, she led 262 customer service trainings for Coastal Carolina University employees, student workers, affiliate groups, and other university stakeholders. She also oversaw the Feel the Teal® Steering Committee and Feel the Teal® Leadership Team at Coastal Carolina University. Eileen is back at Coastal Carolina University as of Fall 2023 as a faculty member and Director of the Wall Fellows Program in the Wall College of Business. The Wall Fellows Program is a uniquely designed, two-year leadership program that prepares top students across all majors for high-level careers in major U.S. and international organizations. Eileen began her career in the hospitality industry and worked with the American Hospitality Academy for more than ten years before starting her own business, The Meeting Institute, in 2004, which provided various training and development programs in the areas of leadership and […]
Todd previously served as Dean of the LSU College of Music & Dramatic Arts and Penniman Family Professor of Music, a position he held from 2014 – 2021. His unique combination of teaching, directing and performing experience has allowed him to travel the world as an educator, stage director, singer and arts leader. During his time at LSU, Todd worked with the faculty to modernize the undergraduate curriculum to meet the needs of the 21st century artist. New courses included instruction in technology, marketing, entrepreneurship, and arts leadership. As an avid fundraiser, he led the college in a $60 million fundraising campaign, which included a $4 million gift in 2018, the largest gift in the college’s history. Additional significant gifts included two new endowed chairs, the lead gift for a recital hall renovation, and the naming of the John G. Turner and Jerry G. Fischer Center for Opera. Prior to Todd’s appointment at LSU, he served as Professor of Voice and Chair of the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance in the College of Liberal Arts at Colorado State University. During his time at CSU, Queen established ten new endowed scholarships for the department and formed the Charles and Reta […]
Senior Leadership Transitions A COACHING PACKAGE Unlock personalized support for your transition into your next senior leadership position. Overview In today’s world of higher education, senior leaders starting a new position need to quickly get the ball rolling and progress through often-competing tensions, including: Assessing their new situation with speed and precision, while also taking the time to learn about the organization’s culture, history, and context Fostering strong relationships across multiple diverse stakeholders, while also building trust where trust is low or has been broken Assessing competing priorities and responding to acute inherited challenges that require quick and decisive action Negotiating both the knowns and the unknowns as they lay the foundations for their work In this environment, it has become increasingly critical for senior leaders to craft a plan before beginning their new positions in order to hit the ground running with swift and courageous action. Join a pair of expert consultant coaches to engage in a series of 10 one-hour sessions, scheduled monthly based on your personal availability. This coaching solution is an opportunity for you to meet with experienced coaches two-on-one to discuss common issues unique to senior leadership within higher education. Each meeting’s agenda will be […]
Most colleges treat volunteers as “nice to have” resource, but a well-managed volunteer infrastructure can mean better fundraising, stronger student outcomes, and deeper relationships with donors, alumni, and friends of the institution. by Valerie Jones, College of Saint Benedict The Scenario In October 1989, 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling was abducted from a rural road in St. Joseph, Minnesota. The event made national headlines and united the community in support of his family. Twenty-eight years later, their worst fears were confirmed. As the grieving family began planning a memorial service in 2016, the College of Saint Benedict (CSB) offered to host. The invitation drew RSVPs from more than 6,000 people, including state and national dignitaries. Logistics such as parking, shuttles, security, media management, hospitality, and more demanded resources. With only two weeks to prepare and with all normal functions of the college already maxed out with the beginning of the fall semester, the college turned to the one resource that would make all the difference: volunteers. Within 10 days, CSB recruited, trained, and deployed roughly 125 volunteers to support the memorial service. Volunteers worked alongside college staff parking cars, ushering dignitaries, greeting shuttles, guiding media members, tending to presenters, collecting condolences and […]
Colleges frequently pursue partnerships with local high schools to improve college preparation and build a stronger pipeline for first-generation students, but these are often focused just on providing brief sessions either at the high school or on the college campus. Really effective partnerships involve more than just a quick one-and-done workshop. We contacted Mary Ontiveros, vice president for diversity at Colorado State University, to share lessons learned from the success of CSU’s Alliance Partnership Program and specific tips for colleges and universities looking to work in tandem with area high schools. More than Just Your Agenda: It’s About Addressing the Schools’ Needs “Don’t go in with a plan. Go in to listen. Find out what’s causing the problem, what barriers are keeping more first-generation students from attending college. Is it money? Is it lack of resources at the high school to provide sufficient counselors? Is it difficulty in getting parents involved? Is it concern over the rigor of the school’s classes and the level of college preparation? Does the school need multicultural training for their staff and instructors to help them better relate to a certain demographic? Find out what that school’s needs are. Then formulate your plan in response.” Mary […]
Picture this scenario. Your institution undertook a lengthy and arduous strategic planning effort, to which your division responded with an operational plan, identifying a list of core initiatives intended to help meet the institution’s strategic goals. It is now two years later. Your division’s operational plan or action plan sits on a shelf (whether physical or digital). Some of the initiatives were pursued and met with varying success; some were not. Few attempts are made to refer back to that operational plan for your division — not because the initiatives outlined in it were ill-considered but because the environment and your awareness of what is on the horizon for higher education and for your institution has changed. Much of what was proposed in the plan is no longer relevant to the demands under which you work and the opportunities that are most critical to address. This is a fairly common scenario, and a symptom of an episodic, reactive approach to planning, in which identifying and resourcing strategic priorities for the division is treated as a completed process once there is a documented plan. Five years later, the process has to be repeated again in order to arrive at a substantially […]
Invest in Your Deans’ Success Support Your Deans’ Growth with a Cohesive, Comprehensive Program See Pricing The work you do to ensure the success of your Deans is one of the most impactful investments you can make in your institution. Turnover among Deans is already at record levels, and each loss in this key role comes at exceptional financial and cultural cost. Academic Impressions’ Deans Success Program offers a unified, intentional, and personalized approach to help your Deans – new and experienced – navigate the complex demands of their roles, develop their leadership capacity, and drive institutional success. Why Choose the Deans Success Program? Deans face immense challenges in today’s academic environment. From navigating complex team dynamics to balancing internal responsibilities with external expectations like fundraising, the demands are high. The Deans Success Program is specifically designed to tackle these challenges head-on by equipping your Deans with the tools to: Foster psychological safety and improve team dynamics. Manage conflict effectively while maintaining team engagement. Lead change with confidence and build an appetite for innovation. Strategically align their leadership to institutional goals. With a comprehensive approach, this program ensures your Deans not only address their immediate challenges but also build the […]
Though institutions of higher education are increasingly looking for technological solutions to strategic challenges, downgrades in the rank of the chief information officer at institutions such as MIT and the University of Chicago raise questions about the CIO’s role in university leadership. While there isn’t any conclusive data to suggest that the CIO role is shrinking, concerns voiced over that possibility do serve to direct increased attention to one of IT’s pressing challenges: that is, how to position the CIO, and the broader IT organization, as a strategic partner within the institution. We turned to Gene Spencer, principal of Gene Spencer Consulting and a lead thinker on IT management, for practical advice on how chief information officers can grow, rather than shrink, their role. Missed Opportunities “Running an IT organization is about relationships first, then technology.”Gene Spencer, Gene Spencer Consulting Spencer suggests that CIOs who see their role shrinking may need to first look at their own approach to key interactions with partners across the institution. Common mistakes that a CIO can make which actually reduce his or her ability to engage with key decision-makers (and be seen as a strategic partner) include: The most critical thing is to shift your focus […]
