This past July-August, the Academic Leadership Institute (ALI) hosted their fourth annual Residential Program.
Academic Leadership Institute’s (ALI) mission is to increase the representation of rising leaders committed to issues of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), including faculty of color. The program helps colleagues on the path to becoming future presidents and provosts and utilize the small network of current and former presidents and provosts who have demonstrated leadership in DEI principles, to provide a forum for more intentional and scalable mentoring of the next generation of such leaders. The cornerstone of this Institute is the annual residential program held in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.
This year, a cohort comprised of 22 applicants from across the country was selected to take part in the five-day program, which consisted of workshops, panels, and extensive discussions about the implementation of DEI in their institutions. The ALI faculty was composed of an intergenerational group of higher education leaders, many of whom participated in previous iterations of the program.
In the wake of the Supreme Court decision to end affirmative action, the increased importance of programs like ALI was felt by cohort and faculty members alike. Many of the more established leaders suggested ways to push the envelope and encouraged new leaders to strive on by creating a coalition of support. ALI co-founder, Dwight A. McBride called this “creating your own personal board of directors”. Faculty members also encouraged the cohort to learn from history as the fight for DEI in higher education has been fought many times before.
Earl Lewis, co-founder of ALI, held a seminar titled Future Trends and the Ongoing Politicalization of Higher Education. “I hope that attendees understood that leaders need to focus on the here and now but they have to have an eye on what the future suggests for them, the institutions they lead, and higher education more generally,” says Lewis while reflecting on his takeaways.
A few of the other topics, among many, included in the 2023 program: In Our Current Moment: Reframing the Work of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion presented by Melanie F. Hart and Carol E. Henderson, Lessons in Leadership: Testimonials from Distinguished Leaders by Dwight A. McBride, and Academic Leadership and Risk Management in the Current Legal and Political Climate lead by Donica Thomas Varner.
Congratulations to the 2023 cohort for completing the Residential Program and joining our network of academic leaders!
