Askew selected for national leadership development program

Askew selected for national leadership development program

AliciaAskew-NewsStory-PresbyterianCollege

Presbyterian College is pleased to announce that Dr. Alicia Askew, dean of academic programs, is one of 45 mid-level administrators in higher education nationwide selected by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) to participate in the 2017–2018 Senior Leadership Academy.

Individuals chosen for the yearlong program are administrators in higher education who have been identified by their institutions as having the potential for senior leadership positions in independent colleges or universities. Askew will participate in an opening seminar in San Antonio, Texas, November 3–5, 2017, and a closing seminar in Washington, DC, June 21–23, 2018. She also will undertake a mentoring program, work with experts, participate in webinars, and engage in a series of readings and case studies during the academic year.

The Academy is designed to prepare prospective leaders to assume positions as the chief officers in any division—including academic affairs, student affairs, finance, enrollment management, and advancement—in independent higher education.

“The need to prepare future leaders of colleges and universities has never been greater because the generation of people now in senior leadership positions on campus is rapidly approaching retirement,” said CIC President Richard Ekman. “Competition for the available places in the program was intense, and the review committee found the nomination materials to be most impressive. They (and I) believe that Alicia Askew has the potential for highly effective leadership in a position of senior responsibility on campus.”

“Since Alicia joined the Academic Affairs office a little over one year ago, she initiated significant progress in our processes related to students, our academic advising mechanisms, our First-Year Experience programs, and in particular our retention efforts,” said Don Raber, provost. “In each of these areas, Alicia worked to transform ad hoc or piecemeal activities into sustained initiatives, and she brought energy and enthusiasm to projects that others might consider ‘grunt work’ or low-priority activities that, in fact, make a huge difference.”

Sixty-one percent of participants in the first Senior Leadership Academy cohort (2010–2011) have advanced in their careers, and 25 percent of participants in the recently completed 2014–2015 cohort already have earned more advanced positions. “These indicators suggest that CIC is helping to meet the leadership needs of higher education by offering highly effective leadership development programs for modest fees to member institutions,” Ekman said.

Expanding participation in the 2017–2018 Senior Leadership Academy, this year the American Express Foundation gave CIC a grant to support diversifying the leadership of independent colleges.

The Academy is co-sponsored by CIC, the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI), and Academic Search, Inc. Linda M. Bleicken, president of AALI, will direct the program. For more information about the Senior Leadership Academy, visit www.cic.edu/SeniorLeadershipAcademy.

The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is an association of 768 nonprofit independent colleges and universities and higher education affiliates and organizations that has worked since 1956 to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of private higher education’s contributions to society. CIC is the major national organization that focuses on providing services to leaders of independent colleges and universities as well as conferences, seminars, and other programs that help institutions to improve educational quality, administrative and financial performance, and institutional visibility. CIC conducts the largest annual conferences of college and university presidents and of chief academic officers. CIC also provides support to state associations that organize programs and generate contributions for their member colleges and universities. The Council is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.

Headquartered in Washington, DC, the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI) is committed to the broad development and support of leadership in higher education by creating and implementing programs and other forms of assistance that enable academic leaders in various administrative positions to be successful in their roles and to advance to higher positions of responsibility. AALI prepares leaders for private and public higher education through programs operated in partnership with CIC and AASCU. The Becoming a Provost Academy, with AASCU, and the Senior Leadership Academy, with CIC, prepare mid-level administrators for vice presidencies. The Executive Leadership Academy, conducted with both AASCU and CIC, prepares vice presidents for presidencies. AALI is supported by Academic Search, Inc.

Academic Search, Inc. is an executive search firm dedicated to serving higher education institutions and related organizations and is the only search firm in the nation with a formal relationship to a premier leadership development program. Based in Washington, DC, it is the wholly owned subsidiary of the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI). This relationship strengthens the ongoing commitment by Academic Search to leadership development as well as the identification of outstanding candidates for positions. Academic Search provides substantial financial support to CIC’s signature leadership programs, including the Executive Leadership Academy and Senior Leadership Academy, through grants by AALI.

 


 

Presbyterian College is located on a striking 240-acre campus in Clinton, between Columbia and Greenville, S.C. Offering challenging academics and a culture of honor, ethics, and service that prepares students to be leaders in communities, PC offers its students the benefit of engaging with an exceptional faculty who take individual interest in their students’ well-being, both personally and in the classroom. The Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy is dedicated to the ideals of leadership, honor to the profession, and service to the community. For more information about Presbyterian College, visit www.presby.edu.