When the pandemic struck, Carolyn and George understood very quickly that even though possibilities for in-person leadership development were not going to be possible, the need for such work was only heightened. Slated to participate in the 2020 iteration of the in-person workshop for department chairs developed by The Chronicle of Higher Education and Ithaka S+R, Carolyn and George approached leaders of those organizations to propose something that both grew out of that longstanding collaboration but built upon it. From those conversations emerged The Chronicle’s Strategic-Leadership Program for Department Chairs, an online multi-week program that continues to serve hundreds of chairs annually. That successful program, which brings together small workshops led by Dever Justice LLC with broader seminars led by Ithaka S+R, has become a model for collaboration in academic leadership development.

We have now successfully partnered on programs for early career academics to get their careers launched; for mid-career faculty with leadership ambitions— which we have nicknamed our program for the “admin-curious”; and for deans to excel in their current positions and prepare for roles of even greater responsibility.

The hallmark of all these programs is that we combine individual attention within a cohort model with state-of-the-art research and national best practices as brought together by The Chronicle and Ithaka S+R, one of the country’s leading non-profit firms dedicated to the future of higher education serving all.

As we look to the future we hope to serve more audiences and to develop in-person programs that build off what we’ve learned from the success of our online programs. Please check The Chronicle’s page for our current and upcoming offerings: https://chronicle.com/professional-development