“Change agent” has become a pretty standard job requirement for college and university presidents. But I hear again and again from new presidents whose boards are in a panic over the changes that the president is leading. This pattern—a change agent is actively recruited, change begins to happen, resistance arises, board begins to complain about the pace, style, or direction of change—is a common factor behind many of the recent one- or two-year presidencies. When I hear about these cases, I sense a lack of deep discussion during the hiring process about what change involves—and especially what it involves for a college or university that inevitably has multiple constituencies and a deep attachment to its history.

To avoid mismatched expectations, search consultants and candidates should press the board about what change means at this institution. Hard questions that should be asked include: What is our theory of how successful change happens? Who besides the president is prepared to foster the change process? What do we expect the result of the changes will feel like? What do we expect the process of change will feel like? How will the board support campus leaders when the inevitable resistance to change emerges? How will the board help the campus mourn the losses that accompany change? How will the board measure success and on what timeline? What does the board hold as sacred that should not change? How much courage does the board have to withstand criticism from the traditionalists in the extended community? How much time and energy does the board have to be visible champions of change? How much experience does the board itself have with change? What is the board doing now to prepare the institution for a change agent presidency? How will a candidate’s personal style and manner affect the campus’ willingness to engage in a change process?

Candidates and current leaders should also be alert for signs that the board itself has little experience with institutional change. One important “tell” is that there are no real limits on board members’ terms of service. Other signs to watch for: The board leadership has remained essentially the same for a long time, the board is not very diverse, and/or there is a specific alumni constituency (it could be athletes or Greeks or members of the clergy or graduates of a particular program, etc.) who expect and receive special consideration from the board and the president. None of these are deal breakers, but they will impact the president’s ability to lead change successfully and should be discussed openly with the board leadership.

CIC gathered a group of innovative college presidents in mid-July for a conversation about what radical collaboration could look like for the small college sector. Deep change—especially to the business model—is more difficult to do on one’s own than as part of a vibrant movement. And while some contraction of the sector is perhaps inevitable given changing demographics, the impact of mass closures on communities, on student access, and on the unique missions of these colleges would be devastating.

At the gathering, we asked foundational questions such as: What are the core drivers that make the difference between failure and long-term success for small colleges? What are the current weaknesses of our institutions that could be ameliorated by targeted investments and/or focused expertise? What kinds of significant business model transformations are possible if we work collectively rather than individually? What are the social goods that our colleges and universities provide that would motivate more broad-based investment? How can we demonstrate and measure the value of those goods?

Over the next year, we will start with our best answers to these questions and widen the locus of conversation, inviting presidents, thought leaders, foundation executives, and others with a passion for small colleges to join us. Our ultimate hope is to form a coalition of those willing and ready to work together to keep this sector vibrant and available as an option for future generations of students. If you are interested in helping to create this “moon shot” vision, please let me know.

A Spark of Inspiration

This month Larry and I celebrate our 37th anniversary. If you are doing the math, that is the full measure of my adult life so far. Having married very young, we have indeed been together in times good and bad, in sickness and in health, for richer and poorer. A long, happy marriage takes a lot of luck as well as deep love and commitment.

We have been sustained by the marriage mission statement (“make love, make life, make interest”) that we crafted early in our relationship. It reminds us of what we want to accomplish by living our lives together. We use it to help us make big—and sometimes even small—decisions. What will add to the store of love in our family and the world? What will make our lives bigger or deeper? What will fascinate us and catch hold of our curiosity and interest? Our mission statement has served us well and led to career changes, writing projects, therapy, children, relocations, and our first (and only) dog. It’s helped us say no to a lot of things as well—things that were tempting but that on deeper reflection threatened to diminish the things we value the most.

We also take seriously psychoanalyst Ethel Person’s advice to “be a friend to each other’s passions.” This motto has allowed us to grow and change without leaving each other behind or drifting apart. We don’t have many hobbies in common, but we take delight in each other’s interests and learn enough that we can understand and support each other’s excitement. 

Having a motto or summative phrase can help you on a path of growth in many areas of your life. Maybe this is the month to craft a mission statement or motto for your relationship to your work, to your best self, to G-d, or to your most important loved ones.

Strengthening Campus Communities through the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Framework

by Tia Brown McNair

This collection brings together reports from more than 20 campuses engaged in the work of racial healing through an AAC&U multi-year project. The diversity of institutions and the ways that each campus took up this work in the context of a unique mission, culture, and history makes this book especially relevant and useful. At a time when DEI efforts are under assault and we are increasingly polarized, the practical lessons here about how to foster meaningful dialogue across difference in ways that increase empathy and understanding are especially important.

The Other Side of Pedagogy: Lacan’s Four Discourses and the Development of the Student Writer

by T.R. Johnson

This is a profound analysis of the ways writing goes wrong and how we can help our students and ourselves become better writers. As the title reveals, there is a fair bit of psychoanalytic theory here, but it is presented with remarkable clarity and real-life examples.

The Crisis of Culture: Identity Politics and the Empire of Norms

by Olivier Roy, tr. by Cynthia Schoch and Trista Selous

Roy’s thesis is that a combination of post 1960s factors (the sexual revolution, deterritorialization, the internet, and neoliberalism) has created a crisis for the very concept of “culture” as an implicit common framework of meaning. For many people, rich cultural embeddedness has been replaced by thinner codes of behavior, subcultural norms, and decontextualized symbolic gestures and markers. Roy offers little in the way of a path forward but certainly sparks the reader’s imagination.

Bonus Beach Read:

Swan Song

by Elin Hilderbrand

IYKYK…The queen of guilty pleasure summer reads has issued what she says is her final Nantucket novel. This one is a light mystery, and fans will spot many favorite characters back for a final bow. I read it on a plane not a beach, but I could practically hear the surf and taste the champagne. And now I am ready for the upcoming September Netflix debut (starring Nicole Kidman) of one of Hilderbrand’s earlier novels in this series, The Perfect Couple.

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