ALA News Release

Bluegrass Higher Education Consortium Announces New Academic Leadership Academy

LEXINGTON, Kentucky – The Bluegrass Higher Education Consortium is announcing its new Academic Leadership Academy to the public and to the institutional members of the consortium, at the Bluegrass Higher Education Consortium Presidents Conference next Thursday, October 31 at the Griffin Gate Marriott Resort,  Presidents Augusta Julian of BCTS and John Roush of Centre College, co-chairs of the consortium have announced.

The public is invited to attend the Presidents Conference, which is part of the “Create Bluegrass 4.0” event, which also includes Bluegrass Tomorrow’s annual Vision Awards Breakfast.   Registration is $80 full conference per person  www.bluegrass to register.

The Academic Leadership Academy is co-chaired by Dr. Bonnie Banker, Academic Dean at Asbury University and Dr. Sherry Robinson, Executive Assistant to the Provost and Academic Affairs at Eastern Kentucky University.  It is a presidential initiative, led by the 12 presidents represented in the consortium, to build future academic leaders in the Bluegrass Region. The purpose of the academy is to encourage younger faculty to consider leadership career paths and to provide guidance in developing the skills that are requisites for effective institutional leadership to ensure a sound and successful future for the institution.

“The desired outcome,” said Banker, “is to create a cohort of leaders for Central Kentucky’s 12 institutions of higher education that have the proficiencies to work with their colleagues by effectively employing quality leadership skills and being able to have insight into the overall role of the university so as to strategically lead the next generation of learners.”

The Academic Leadership Academy also addresses one of the goals the Presidents set in the signing of the charter agreement for the consortium last year:  “To design professional development/leadership development opportunities for administration, faculty and staff.”

The two full-day sessions for the Academy in 2014, will be February 14 at Georgetown College and May 16 at Eastern Kentucky University.  The curriculum being planned includes: budgeting basics, crisis management, legal and ethical issues, managing conflict, strategic decision making, accreditation-compliance-assessment, and  job shadowing, mentorship and reading during the interim.  One of the key objectives of the curriculum is to expand understanding of the environment in which institutional decisions are made in the 21st century.

The Bluegrass Higher Education Consortium was chartered in 2012 with the mission of advancing the region both economically and educationally.  The 12 participating regionally accredited four-year institutions are:  Asbury University, Berea College, Bluegrass Community and Technical College, Centre College, Eastern Kentucky University, Georgetown College, Midway College, Morehead State University, Kentucky State University, Sullivan University, Transylvania University and the University of Kentucky.  The Presidents of each institution constitute the executive committee of the board of directors.

More details on the Academic Leadership Academy will be announced at a session beginning at 1:25, after the luncheon at the October 31 Presidents Conference.