Leaders and aspiring leaders in academic and enrollment services have a significant responsibility towards their coworkers, their campuses”and the higher education community at large. Those who assume this responsibility are charged with complex tasks”including cross-department collaboration, reducing costs while increasing quality, and establishing a compelling vision for the direction of their institutions. And leaders who take these duties seriously can have a lasting, positive impact on their teams and institutions.
"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other," President John F. Kennedy wrote in the speech he was to deliver the day he was assassinated. With this line, Kennedy was reminding those in positions of power of their imperative duty to seek out information, reexamine old opinions, grow and evolve.
Often, leaders' unique skills, innovative ideas or charismatic personalities help them ascend to their positions, but that does not mean the promotions are an entitlement, privilege or reward. Rather, they are an invitation to keep learning”to work even harder to develop the next set of best ideas and practices. In order to fulfill the obligations of their offices”whether as the supervisor of a two-person department or as President of the United States”effective leaders should continually strive to deepen their understanding of their milieus and model a humble commitment to lifelong learning.
A deeper understanding
In an effort to provide higher education leaders with a critical learning opportunity, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers has partnered with Vanderbilt University's Peabody College of Education and Human Development to offer a one-week institute for senior professionals in academic and enrollment services.
Institute fellows will develop a deeper understanding of how colleges and universities function and connect theory to practice in areas such as:
1. The historical, social, and organizational contexts of American higher education.
2. Local, state, and federal higher education policy.
3. Using data to shape decision-making.
4. Strategic resource allocation.
5. Human and financial resource management.
6. Imagining tomorrow's academic and enrollment services offices.
Vanderbilt faculty and other nationally-recognized experts will be on board to bring expertise in areas including: • Higher education history, governance, finance and economics. • Policy and politics. • Race and ethnic relations. • Fund raising. • College student success. • Student affairs.
This intensive professional development program will be offered on the Vanderbilt campus from June 23rd through June 27th, 2013. Learn more and apply online at the institute website.
By: AACRAO Connect