THE WIT, THE WILL ... AND THE WALLET
Supporting Educational Innovation, Shaping our Global Futures

January 20-23, 2010
Washington, DC

New American Colleges and Universities

Founded in 1995, the New American Colleges and Universities is a national consortium of twenty selective, small to mid-size independent colleges and universities dedicated to the purposeful integration of liberal education, professional studies, and civic engagement. The New American Colleges and Universities collectively and individually are often cited as models of the intentional integration of teaching and learning, scholarship, and service.

Leadership in Uncertain Times:
What We Want and Need From Campus Leaders
A panel of presidents from four master’s comprehensive universities will discuss the particular challenges to leadership they face during uncertain economic times and their strategies for managing those challenges.  The panelists will discuss what specific roles campus leaders –both administrators and faculty – can play in helping the institution ensure its vitality during uncertain times; what particular needs and expectations presidents have for themselves and their senior leadership teams; and the qualities, behaviors, and skill sets they look for.
Bobby Fong, President, Butler University; Leo Lambert, President, Elon University; Richard Guarasci, President, Wagner College; Linda Hanson, President, Hamline University; and David Maxwell, President, Drake University

The Provost—CFO Partnership: Reflections on Effective Teamwork
The need for open communication between those responsible for guiding institutional investments – in bricks and mortar, academic and co-curricular programming, and personnel – has never been more important than it is today.  The capacity of chief financial officers and provosts to create and sustain effective, collaborative partnerships in furthering the institution’s mission, is particularly critical when the forces of fiscal constraint and enrollment uncertainty coincide with pressures to enhance academic quality and reputation.   Three experienced teams of CFO's and Provosts will reflect, often with humor, on how they have worked together to move their institutions forward.  They will discuss specific challenges and obstacles, as well as successes, and suggest strategies for how these key relationships can be built and nurtured over time. All three institutions are at a point of transition, as these three seasoned provosts, who together have been in their academic leadership roles for more than half a century, retired in June.
Roy Austensen, Professor of History, and former Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Charley Gillispie, Vice President for Finance and Administration – both of Valparaiso University; Gerald Francis, Executive Vice President and former Provost, and Gerald Whittington, Vice President for Business, Finance and Technology – both of Elon University; and Ronald Troyer, Senior Counselor for International Initiatives and former Provost, and Victoria Payseur, Vice President for Business & Finance – both of Drake University