The client seeks a bold, progressive, creative, and seasoned higher-education administrator to serve as its next president and lead a liberal arts institution. The role is expected to advance an environment focused on the interests and passions of students, faculty, and staff, where ideas can move from conception to fruition. The president will provide leadership during a complicated period for higher education, with particular attention to challenges facing liberal arts colleges.
Key responsibilities include bolstering philanthropy; driving strategic enrollment and programmatic growth; articulating a clear and ambitious vision; and demonstrating community-oriented leadership that strengthens campus culture. The ideal candidate will enjoy leading self-directed, motivated students within an intentionally interdisciplinary educational model and will be energized by an institution centered on the human condition. The president is expected to inspire students and community members to become resourceful, nimble, and adaptable in addressing complex real-world problems.
Candidates should bring a distinguished record of accomplishment in higher education and/or related areas such as diplomacy, scholarship, the arts, and other professional fields that can support the institution’s mission. Strong qualifications include increasingly responsible, creative leadership in education or a comparably complex, mission-driven organization; experience building and implementing shared strategic vision and shared values; high-level communication and interpersonal skills; the ability to inspire others to engage with and support ambitious goals; deep appreciation for the mission and values and the economic realities facing private higher education; and demonstrated emotional intelligence. An advanced degree and a record of professional excellence appropriate for leading and engaging a unique and dynamic academic community are expected.