The theme of the 2026 ACAD Annual Conference was “Fostering Resilient Leadership.” As the program noted, “institutions must identify ways to maintain leadership that is mission-driven and that sustains higher education into the future. This year’s theme of Fostering Resilient Leadership will address the many ways in which academic leaders can and, indeed should, combine necessary responsiveness with resilience for the future.”
This theme apparently struck a chord with ACAD members, as it remains a topic of conversation in other venues and email discussions, and the current issue of the ACAD Leader is no exception. The spring 2026 edition has six essays that address some form of resilient leadership, whether that is developing new leadership, sustaining your own leadership, cultivating leadership in students, or making a graceful exit from leadership while being mindful toward your successor.
In our first article, Peter White and Brad Fuster discuss a potential catch-22 in identifying potential new leaders: when highly effective teachers are removed from the classroom to take on administrative responsibilities, students suffer, but if less effective teachers are removed from the classroom, will they have the credibility with the faculty to make decisions that elicit buy-in?
Tia Dumas and Thomas Kealy attempt to develop leadership capacity through a Chairs Academy at Clemson University. Clemson’s model is one of long-term sustainable mentorship for department chairs, and it begins with deans listening to what is needed from chairs now, and intentionally building a program that meets a “just-in-time” developmental model.
Dianna Shandy discusses the aphorism that to be effective, provosts must develop a thick skin, by distinguishing between resilience and being “thick-skinned.” For Shandy, being thick-skinned is about deflecting emotions away from the person, which is not helpful for a provost. Resilience is about absorbing, processing, and allowing emotions to pass through. In the long run, resilience is sustainable, being thick-skinned is not.
Reverend Jonathan Wesley discusses the strategic role of human resource leadership as a way to help higher education heal. He distinguishes between human resource offices who focus on protecting the institution at the expense of the employees – the human resources – and those offices who focus on creating sustainable employment practices for everyone at the institution.
Sean O’Keefe advocates for creating partnerships between students and alumni as a powerful experiential learning mechanism for stronger civic engagement, employment opportunity awareness, and community leadership.
Susannah Gal discussed the need for effective leadership transition by ensuring that those who follow others in leadership are able to understand the flow of the position they now have. She advocates creating a binder of material that detail standard operating procedures of the position to help our successors.
