Productive, articulate, responsive leadership is expected as soon as a new president assumes office. Multiple institutional pressures do not permit the luxury of learning on the job.
The Harvard Seminar for New Presidents provides a practical and conceptual orientation to the presidency. It familiarizes new presidents with the opportunities and hazards they will likely face, and prepares them to respond to the multiple responsibilities and constituencies of their new role.
In sessions ranging from fundraising to building the administrative team, the seminar focuses on the critical issues of the first months and years of the presidency. It provides a chance for new presidents to reflect upon their own situations, and to consult with experts about their special concerns and questions. Perhaps most importantly, the Harvard Seminar for New Presidents introduces presidents to an extraordinary peer group of colleagues from around the country.
Enrollment
is limited to approximately 45 new presidents from all sectors of American higher
education—colleges, universities, and community colleges—who have not yet assumed
office or who are in the first year of their tenure as a president.
"The seminar provided a practical, down-to-earth and engaging experience which helped clarify many issues and at the same time gave me a terrific network of new friends and colleagues to call on in the future."
-John A. Fry, Franklin & Marshall College (PA) |
Topics You Will
Explore
Intensive, interactive sessions address topics that are critical in the first
years of a presidency:
Contexts of Leadership
Explore the importance
of an institution's culture and traditions. Understand the significance of being sensitive
to organizational culture as well as institutional traditions
while encouraging and managing change. Governance
Better understand the role of
governing boards, the relationship between the president and the board
of trustees,
and specific steps
the chief executive can take to improve the board’s performance.
Analyze similarities and differences between boards of public
and private institutions. Presidential Fundraising
Examine important
components of the fundraising process, and the president’s role
in assuring its success. Learn how to become a more effective
fundraiser. Know what to expect from the chief development officer. President’s Perspective on Financial Management
Understand
the role of financial information in institutional decision making.
Become a better manager and consumer
of financial information. Understand strategies for improving campus
productivity and cost containment. Building the Administrative Team
Explore
the role of the president as chief executive and senior personnel officer.
Learn how to assess existing staff and develop effective working teams.
Academic Leadership
Explore the role
of the president as academic leader. Learn how to exert
the most effective leadership in the academic arena, and how to sustain personal academic interests.
Life of the President
Discuss
issues and choices related to the lifestyle of a president including how to
handle entertainment, identify the role of the spouse, manage the president’s
house, and live in the spotlight of the presidency.
Strategic Planning
Examine the president’s
role in the design and implementation of strategic planning efforts. Discuss how
to develop and sustain institutional performance indicators.
Articulating a Vision
Consider the role
of the president as architect and promoter of institutional directions
and values. Identify a vision for the institution and learn how to build momentum toward
achieving it. Understand how to sustain a personal vision for
the presidency. 
"The Harvard Seminar for New Presidents is a wonderful way to launch a presidency. It provided a useful reservoir of information as I got underway. I am still drawing heavily form insights gained here."
-Ruth Simmons, Brown University (RI) |
2008 Faculty Included
The seminar faculty is drawn from Harvard University, with guest faculty
and experienced presidents from around the country.
Judith Block McLaughlin, Educational Chair, The Harvard Seminar for New Presidents; Senior Lecturer on Education, Director,
Higher Education Program, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Lee Bolman, Marion H. Bloch Chair in Leadership, University of Missouri
Kansas City
Kent J. Chabotar, President, Guilford College (NC)
Richard P. Chait, Research Professor,
Harvard Graduate School of Education
James P. Honan, Senior Lecturer on Education,
Harvard Graduate
School of Education
Scott G. Nichols, Vice President for Development,
and Alumni Affairs, Boston University (MA).
"We rubbed elbows with some of the best thinkers in higher education and had the opportunity to share our stories as first-time presidents. We became and remain a community of colleagues and friends ."
-Margaret Lee, Oakton Community College (IL) |
Format
The seminar will include a variety of activities such as presentations, “in-box” exercises,
panel discussions, and small group meetings. Several of the sessions will be
built around case studies that illustrate important issues and challenges for
new presidents.
The seminar is planned as an integrated whole. Program themes are interwoven throughout. While class sessions are central to the seminar experience, much valuable learning also takes place outside the classroom. Faculty
members are available after classes and at meals to continue discussions, talk shop, and share ideas. Time is also set aside for focused discussions
among presidents of similar types of institutions. The seminar creates a stimulating
learning environment, in which new presidents can exchange ideas, reactions,
practical experiences, and insights with each other.
Program Details
Schedule
The workload during the seminar is challenging. Full-time participation and preparation are expected throughout the seminar; participants must free themselves from all work obligations during the program.
Accommodations
Detailed accommodation options will be made closer to the program date.
Environment
While at Harvard, participants have access to the academic, cultural, social, and athletic resources of the University, including the library system and museums. Harvard Square offers a fascinating array of bookstores, shops, coffee houses, and restaurants. And Boston, just a few stops away by subway, is a city rich in history and culture.
Admissions decisions will be made within 4–6 weeks of receipt of a completed application.
The Admissions Committee strives for representative diversity among participants
and institutions.
Program Fee
The comprehensive program fee of $5,995 includes tuition, all course-related materials,
hotel accommodations, most meals during the program, and several special events.
Limited financial aid is available, application forms may be obtained by contacting hihe@gse.harvard.edu.
Cancellation Policy
The Harvard Graduate School of Education reserves the right to change
faculty or cancel the program at its discretion. In the
unlikely
event of changes, the school is not responsible for non-refundable travel
arrangements or other planning costs incurred.
Advisory Board
George R. Boggs
President
American Association of Community Colleges
Constantine W. Curris
President
American Association of State Colleges and Universities
Richard Ekman
President
Council of Independent Colleges
Madeleine Green
Vice President
American Council on Education
Nils Hasselmo
President
Association of American Universities
Richard T. Ingram
President
Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges
C. Peter Magrath
President
National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges
Carol Geary Schneider
President
Association of American Colleges and Universities
David Ward
President
American Council on Education
David L. Warren
President
National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
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