ACAD’s mission as an organization is to provide support for leaders by leaders. With the number of challenges facing higher education seeming to grow exponentially in the last several months, we as academic leaders have never needed one another’s support more. Being able to come together at professional meetings, including ACAD’s annual gathering, to talk about our shared aspirations as well as our shared struggles ensures that we have the energy and insight to serve our students and our institutions. This issue of The Leader features two sets of reflections which began as conference presentations.
The series of essays devoted to Deans and the Life of the Mind was shared at the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities Arts and Sciences Deans annual meeting in October 2024. The linked pieces by Donna LaVoie, Daniel Press, Brad Stone and Heidi Bostic (who also provides an introduction) explore the importance of nurturing our own intellectual and artistic pursuits and suggest innovative ways to ensure these are integrated into our regular routines. As we are reminded by the cabin crew of any flight we take, we need to make sure that our oxygen mask is secure before we attempt to help others. As academic leaders, nurturing our own life of the mind allows us to be models for our students and colleagues. Each of the contributors offer useful strategies to make sure we have the “oxygen” needed to serve and lead.
The second set of essays originated as a lively session at February’s ACAD annual meeting. Maria S. Wong, Christie Chung, Gabriel Warren and Emily Chan each share their perspectives on how their diverse backgrounds have shaped their approach to leadership. Their strategies are a further source of inspiration as academic leaders continue to address systemic obstacles in a landscape that has grown increasingly more volatile even since February.
We hope that as you hear good presentations – either as panels or as individual talks – you encourage presenters to submit their work to the Leader so that they can reach an even wider audience!
Along with these grouped essays, we have a contribution from Jeanne Petrolle that asks us to reflect on the role of religious identity in these contentious times. Nathan Pritts’s article provides useful suggestions regarding data-driven approaches to enhance teaching. Finally, we are pleased to share a book review of Kathleen Fitzpatrick’s Leading Generously: Tools for Transformation, written by Meredith Goldsmith. The editorial team would like to remind readers that The Leader welcomes book reviews too! Especially as you consider spending a little time over the summer months to sustain your intellectual engagements with your work, if you read a recently published work related to higher ed leadership, please consider writing up your perspectives to share with The ACAD Leader readership!
