Doughty selected for national leadership development program

HUNTINGTON, Ind. Dr. Del Doughty, interim vice president for academic affairs, was one of 32 mid-level administrators in higher education nationwide to be selected by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) to participate in a year-long Senior Leadership Academy.

"I'm honored to be selected to participate in the Academy next year," Doughty said. "The Council of Independent Colleges is a great organization and has long been the leading voice for liberal arts education in America."

Individuals chosen for the program are administrators in higher education who have been identified by their institutions as having the potential for senior leadership positions in independent colleges or universities. Doughty will participate in two seminars, one in Portland, Ore., Oct. 31 Nov. 2, 2014, and one in Washington, D.C., June 24 26, 2015. He also will undertake a mentoring program, work with experts, participate in webinars and engage in a series of readings and case studies during the 2014 2015 academic year.

"The college experience as we have known it for the past few centuries in America is currently undergoing some rather vertiginous changes," Doughty said. "For a long time, we've believed that college is built around the liberal arts and a four-year residency, and that belief has borne good fruit. I'm interested in leadership because I'm interested in making sure that this particular model of education continues to flourish."

The purpose of the Academy is to prepare prospective leaders to assume positions as the chief officers in any division including academic affairs, student affairs, finance, enrollment management and advancement in independent higher education.

Doughty is currently serving as HU's interim vice president for academic affairs. After his term is finished, he will continue with the university as a professor of English, chair of the English department and associate dean for academic affairs.

"The need to prepare future leaders of colleges and universities has never been greater because the generation of people now in senior leadership positions on campus is rapidly approaching retirement," said CIC President Richard Ekman. "Competition for the available places in the program was intense, and the review committee found the nomination materials to be most impressive. They (and I) believe that Doughty has the potential for highly effective leadership in a position of senior responsibility on campus."

Since the program began in the 2010 2011 academic year, 43 percent of the participants have experienced upward mobility.

"These indicators suggest that CIC is helping to meet the leadership needs of higher education by offering highly effective leadership development programs for modest fees to member institutions," Ekman said.

The Academy is co-sponsored by CIC and the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI) with financial support from Academic Search, Inc. and the Henry Luce Foundation. Tom Kepple, president of AALI and president emeritus of Juniata College (PA), is the program director. CIC is an association of 744 nonprofit independent colleges and universities and higher education affiliates and organizations that has worked since 1956 to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of private higher education's contributions to society.

For more information about the Senior Leadership Academy, visit www.cic.edu/SeniorLeadershipAcademy.