Accelerate Faculty

Alverno College is pleased to announce that Scott Zeman, vice president for Academic Affairs, is one of 20 senior college administrators selected by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) to participate in a year-long Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission program for prospective college and university presidents. The seminar-based program is designed to help individuals with the potential to serve as college and university presidents to clarify the alignment between their personal and professional values and goals and the missions of institutions that they might lead in the future. With a wave of retirements of university presidents on the horizon, it is especially important that individuals who become new presidents are well suited to the culture of the institution. The program aims to produce presidencies that are long lasting, highly effective, and satisfying to both the individual and the institution.

Participants including Zeman will engage in two seminars, participate in consultations with experienced facilitators, and undertake a series of readings about the vocation of college presidents and the role of vision and mission in institutional leadership.

“The alignment of personal vocation and institutional mission emphasized in this program addresses a common pitfall of presidencies,” said CIC President Richard Ekman. “The program aims to help participants achieve great things for their institutions and to avoid being ‘the right person in the wrong place.'”

Zeman came to Alverno in November 2017 from Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I. where he was provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. There he led the creation of their strategic plan and vision, created the Office of Sponsored Programs, and forged partnerships with the Rhode Island Department of Education and Miami Dade College. Before his work at Salve Regina University, he served as dean of the College for Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at St. Thomas University in Miami and as associate vice president for academic affairs and director of faculty development at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.

“Scott is a leader with a deep interest in excellent teaching and the education of first generation students,” said Andrea Lee, IHM, president of Alverno College. “His work has been praised by colleagues and administrators, and his dedication to our students is abundantly evident. His skill and vision encompass what is needed in higher education leadership, and we are very pleased that he has been selected for this program.”

This approach to the preparation of new presidents has proven highly successful in the period that the program has been operating. Since 2005, 53 program participants (33 percent) have been named to college presidencies—a very high rate of advancement among leadership development programs.

The program is directed by Frederik Ohles, Nebraska Wesleyan University president and CIC senior advisor. For more information about the Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission program, which is generously funded by Lilly Endowment Inc., visit cic.edu/VocationMission.

Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission Participants, 2018-2019

• Sandra Affenito, Provost and Dean of the Faculty, Norwich University (VT)
• Mark L. Biermann, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Valparaiso University (IN)
• Janet L. Bland, Provost and Dean of the Faculty, Marietta College (OH)
• Marcus Antonio Chanay, Vice President for Student Services, Jarvis Christian College (TX)
• Roberto Curci, Dean, Brennan School of Business, Dominican University (IL)
• Suzanne Allison Davis, Vice President for University Relations, Greenville University (IL)
• Tracy Espy, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Pfeiffer University (NC)
• Jeffrey A. Frick, Dean of the College and Academic Vice President, St. Norbert College (WI)
• Karen C. Goff, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Agnes Scott College (GA)
• Heather Hadlock, Vice President for Student Affairs, East Texas Baptist University (TX)
• Amanda Lammers, Vice President for Student Services, Brenau University (GA)
• Kenneth F. Newbold, Jr., Provost and Executive Vice President, Goshen College (IN)
• Rod Reed, Dean of Christian Formation, John Brown University (AR)
• Eric M. Shor, Vice President Enrollment Management, Alderson Broaddus University (WV)
• Kimberly Sluis, Vice President for Student Affairs and Strategic Initiatives, North Central College (IL)
• Tracy M. Stewart, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Viterbo University (WI)
• Mary E.M. Strey, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, Central College (IA)
• Michael K. Wanous, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Huntington University (IN)
• Matthew Ward, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing, California Lutheran University
• Scott C. Zeman, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Alverno College (WI)

About the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC)

The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is an association of 770 nonprofit independent colleges and universities, state-based councils of independent colleges, and other higher education affiliates, that works to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of independent higher education's contributions to society. CIC is the major national organization that focuses on services to leaders of independent colleges and universities and state-based councils. CIC offers conferences, seminars, publications, and other programs and services that help institutions improve educational quality, administrative and financial performance, student outcomes, and institutional visibility. It conducts the largest annual conferences of college and university presidents and of chief academic officers in the United States. Founded in 1956, CIC is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. For more information, visit cic.edu.