Recent Recap
Read about recent news, initiatives, and programs at CIC and click on the programs to learn more.
Graduate Membership Category
CIC recently established a sixth membership category, open to nonprofit, independent, graduate-only liberal arts colleges and universities.
CIC Insights Tool
CIC is in the process of improving the Key Indicators Tool (KIT) and Financial Indicators Tool (FIT). The new CIC Insights Tool is intended to help institutions understand metrics compared to self-curated peers; prioritize areas for attention and potentially set targets, and communicate findings with key stakeholders across your campus.
Partnerships and Mergers Project
This project supports colleges and universities that are exploring partnerships, mergers, and other collaborative enterprises as a means to secure long-term institutional sustainability. Members can access frameworks, resources, and advising services.
Texas Work-Based Learning Consortium
Launched in December, this is a three-year initiative designed to expand equitable access to career-building experiences for students at independent colleges and universities across Texas. The initiative places special emphasis on serving Pell-eligible and first-generation students, who often face barriers to traditional work-based learning opportunities. Ten CIC institutional members will be selected through a competitive application process to join the Consortium.
Deans Coaching Circles
In response to requests for more professional development opportunities for deans, this program offers collaborative and dynamic leadership cohorts. Small groups of deans meet online monthly with a professional executive coach to support one another’s growth, share experiences, and engage real issues that impact deans at colleges and universities. They are led by professional executive coaches in partnership with Academic Search.
Presidents Circles
In this program, small groups of new presidents meet online monthly in a confidential, trusted space for personal and professional development, fostering a community of practice and mutual learning. They are led by professional executive coaches who are seasoned former presidents in partnership with Academic Search.
Webinar: The Role of the President in Federal Advocacy
On December 4, 2025, CIC and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) partnered on a first-of-its-kind webinar for new college presidents to:
- Define what it means to be an “advocate” on federal higher education policy issues
- Understand the vital role presidents play in affecting federal higher education policy
- Hear from peers about their experiences in working with and educating their members of Congress about the impact independent, nonprofit higher education and the students you serve have on their district, state, region, and nationally
- Hear from NAICU’s government relations experts on the most pressing issues, legislation, and regulations facing independent, nonprofit higher education
The webinar featured Barbara Altmann, president emerita of Franklin & Marshall College (PA) and senior advisor and director of CIC’s New Presidents Program; Barbara Mistick, President of NAICU; Tim Powers, Vice President for Government Relations and Policy Development of NAICU; and James Troha, President of Juniata College (PA).
Webinar: The Compact for Academic Excellence: What’s at Stake for Independent Colleges and Universities
On October 30, 2025, CIC offered a special webinar for presidents only to help provide some perspective and advice in navigating the call for colleges and universities to sign on to the Trump administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence. The webinar offered a chance to gather with colleagues and learn about the implications of this compact, options for responding, and what may be at stake for your institution and for the sector as a whole.
Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill, CIC’s senior director of civic learning and free expression projects, and Jim Newberry, member at Steptoe and Johnson PLLC, joined CIC President Marjorie Hass in discussing the compact’s implications for admissions, enrollment, paths to graduation, institutional autonomy, shared governance, free expression, and legal standing.
Webinar: State of the Sector
On September 15, 2025, CIC hosted a webinar to support members in the variety of challenges that come at the beginning of a semester, both new and old. CIC’s newest programs were presented to help navigate current issues and generate ideas for future opportunities to support the sector.
CIC President Marjorie Hass led the discussion and CIC Vice President of Membership Engagement Jeff Woods served as host.
Upcoming CIC Spring Programs
Don’t miss out on CIC’s networks and programming for your institution’s leadership and faculty! Details are below to apply, nominate, or register.
Graduate Program Network
This new network will support graduate education at CIC member institutions, designed for the senior administrators who develop and manage graduate programs to gather and share expertise with their peers. It will provide opportunities to dig deeply into common challenges, identify practical solutions, and share data, evolving standards, and best practices. Registration to join the network is currently open.
Presidential Renewal Program
Are you an experienced president having trouble sustaining your leadership momentum? This program supports the personal revitalization of experienced CIC presidents who want to continue to serve in the vital role of the college presidency. In phase one of the program, the focus is on personal renewal. In phase two, the program focuses on the interrelationship between personal and institutional sustainability.
Alliance for Strategic Innovation Career Services Design Workshop
CIC envisions building a national career center that will strengthen college-to-career pathways, working with an initial group of pilot institutions. To develop a framework for this collaborative career center that would use contemporary technology and expertise to expand the capacity, reach, and network for career planning and placement for participating campuses, CIC is hosting a design workshop to be held in March 2026. This workshop will bring campus teams together with subject experts and industry leaders to create the initial design for the center.
Executive Leadership Academy
The Executive Leadership Academy is a yearlong program to equip senior administrators for success in a presidency by providing them with new knowledge, skills, and experiences that are directly related to the actual work of a college president.
Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission
The Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission Program strengthens participants’ ability to secure a meaningful and rewarding presidency by focusing on the alignment of institutional mission and personal vocation. The deadline is February 6.
Faculty Leadership Academy
The Faculty Leadership Academy is designed to support full-time faculty members at CIC member colleges and universities who aspire to assume leadership roles in higher education—particularly those who have demonstrated a commitment to inclusive leadership. The deadline is February 6.
Senior Leadership Academy
The Senior Leadership Academy is a yearlong program that prepares mid-level administrators to assume vice presidencies and other senior positions in independent higher education. The deadline is February 13.
Teaching Interfaith Understanding
This multidisciplinary seminar takes place in June and broadens faculty members’ knowledge and perspective to help them strengthen the teaching of interfaith understanding, develop new courses and other resources, and expand the network of faculty members who are committed to teaching this subject. The deadline is February 13.
CIC-CDI Cohort
As part of the Campus Free Expression Project, CIC partners with the Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI) to strengthen campus dialogue and student engagement and communication skills using CDI’s evidence-based Perspectives program. The deadline is February 13.
Workshops for Department and Division Chairs
The workshops are designed to serve both experienced and new chairs of departments or divisions at independent colleges and universities. The 2026 Workshops for Department and Division Chairs take place in Columbus, OH (May 18–20) and Nashville, TN (June 8–10).
State Councils Annual Conference
The 2026 CIC State Councils Annual Conference will be held April 28–30, 2026, in Chicago, IL. All state association executive directors and staff members are welcome to attend. The conference will feature interactive sessions, peer exchange opportunities, and timely insights from sector experts.