Small-College Presidents Hear Tips on Building a Leadership Team

Writing for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Robin Wilson reveals some of the shared leadership stories of the 255 small college presidents who met recently via the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC). Scott Jaschick of Inside Higher Ed also attended this conference and reports on it here. Wilson focused on top level leadership team challenges and Jaschik writes more broadly about the issues discussed.

From Wilson's account:

Most valuable, the presidents said, was to seek senior leaders who can think about the work of the whole institution, rather than be sidetracked by devotion to their own special areas.

"You want people who can take that big picture and give up something they normally would have fought for in their own area—because it's in the best interests of the institution," said Susan C. Scrimshaw, president of the Sage College.

From Jaschik's account:

"Is there an economist in the house?" Paul Hennigan, president of Point Park University, jokingly asked the question of a group of college presidents gathered here at a meeting of the Council of Independent Colleges. While there was one economist among the presidents, he seemed as worried as everyone else about the impact the economy was having on their institutions.

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Regional SCUP Events! Enjoy the F2F company of your colleagues and peers at one of three SCUP regional conferences this spring:

• March 14–16: Baltimore, MD
• March 24–26: Cambridge, MA
• April 5–7, San Diego, CA

When Times Are Tough

Just how bad can it get at small, private colleges? La Grange is the oldest private college in Georgia. Subtitled, "Georgia's LaGrange College faces financial challenges as parents and students struggle to afford the cost of a private college, this article in National Crosstalk by Don Campbell takes us deep into that school's budget crisis and planning: "Rated highly for its affordability as a four-year private college, LaGrange has survived the toughest economic year in memory with a balanced budget, according to outgoing President Stuart Gulley, but not without some tough decisions that will be felt even more in the coming year."

In Turbulent Times, 2 Small Colleges Brace for the Worst

This article, by Goldie Blumenstyk, from The Chronicle of Higher Education, will require a day pass or a subscription to the magazine:

About a year ago, Heidelberg College pumped up its spending for a new, streamlined scholarship program, and then promoted its simplified formula so that students would know how much they could get before they even applied.

It worked. Last fall this small, mostly residential liberal-arts college on a campus dotted with Collegiate Gothic buildings brought in the second-largest class in its 158-year history, and, more significantly, a net increase in tuition revenue. It is on track for similar success this year.

At Tiffin University, a newer, more-Modernist campus across town, enrollment has been at least as solid. Thanks to its distance-education program and 11 satellite campuses, Tiffin's student population has risen by more than 50 percent over the past five years, far outpacing growth at other private or public colleges in the state.

Together, these two very dissimilar colleges — located at opposite ends of this town of 18,000 in the farm flatlands of north-central Ohio — present a living laboratory for the variety of experiments and strategies that many small, private colleges are now undertaking.

And perhaps none too soon.