Distributed Leadership as a Sustainable and Inclusive Leadership Approach

Introduction Distributed leadership is best defined as participatory leadership across an organization. In an organization which practices distributed leadership, both the responsibility and the accountability of leadership is embraced and shared by those who have the expertise and skills to move the institution forward. This is accomplished not singularly as a positional leader, but through […]

How Strategic Planning Can Bridge the Divide Between Athletics and Academics

Every college and university that sponsors intercollegiate athletics, at any level, must come to grips with how that division fits into the overall mission of the institution. And, at the same time, athletics must work to integrate itself into the university’s culture. One way to achieve that is to embark on a highly collaborative strategic […]

Responding to a Crisis: Lessons for College Leaders

What can college and university leaders learn from military leaders about crisis preparedness? Find out from this panel of experts. Colleges and universities all too often face a series of challenges in responding actively and speedily to a crisis or emergency on or affecting the campus, but they needn’t reinvent the wheel: there are proven […]

Improving Faculty Advising

Over the past nine months, Academic Impressions has conducted several surveys of academic deans, department chairs, and directors of advising to investigate current trends in developing and assessing both faculty advisors and professional advisors. Among the key findings: Yet we also confirmed that over three-quarters of institutions surveyed rely heavily on faculty advisors (even if […]

When Student Behavior Becomes a Media Crisis: Mitigation and Recovery

As one news source put it, Duke University “keeps getting in the news for all the wrong reasons.” The barrage of negative media attention to what are in all probability isolated and exceptional incidents at the university (a recent alumnus detailing her intimate encounters with Duke athletes; an email from a Duke fraternity inviting female […]

Make Your Threat Assessment Team Effective: Part 1

This is the first of two articles offering practical advice on making behavioral intervention teams effective. The second article, which will focus on five pitfalls to avoid, will appear in late August. An abbreviated version of this article appeared in an earlier edition of Higher Ed Impact. August 4, 2011. In today’s difficult economic climate, most […]

“DECLINED” Can my proposal be revived?

Why do so many grant proposals get rejected? Funding rates hover at about 20% across all federal agencies: the competition is fierce. For new faculty who are inexperienced, their chances of getting funded are more like 10-15%. This is due in part to PI inexperience with proposal writing and/or interpreting review comments and constructively utilizing […]

Is Your Academic Program Sustainable? 5 Key Indicators

How do you measure academic program demand? The former CFO at Stanford discusses 5 key indicators that can help you gain confidence and clarity in your academic program decisions. by William F. Massy, Consultant to Higher Education, Former CFO at Stanford Universities can no longer take the sustainability of their academic programs for granted. Pressures on […]

Implementing a Research Mission at Your Teaching-Intensive University

When it comes to implementing a research mission, the devil is in the details. Scenario As a dean at Middlestates Territory University (MSTU), you are charged with creating, funding, and implementing a vision and action plan for bringing the “research” portion of the institution’s statutory mission to the forefront.  After many years of negotiation, lobbying, […]

College Student Mental Health Statistics and What They Really Mean

There has been a lot of media attention to college student mental health statistics and to the upsurge in demand for mental health services. But does the data really suggest a mental health “crisis”? What does the upsurge actually mean for postsecondary institutions? Where do we need to shift the conversation, and what do we […]