Steven Sample’s piece on “The Contrarian’s Guide to University Leadership” is particularly thought-provoking. Given the headwinds we are faced with in higher education in general and at CIC institutions in particular, the “contrarian’s guide to innovation,” as one section of his article is titled, is especially important. In it Sample writes, “At the heart of contrarian academic leadership is a certain intellectual and creative independence that allows the leader to find new horizons of opportunity and novel solutions for seemingly intractable problems. Toward this end the leader must work assiduously to cultivate in herself and in her advisors to think free—free, that is, from all prior restraints. It is popular these days to talk about thinking outside the box or brainstorming, but thinking free takes the process to the next level, staying in a mode of inventiveness long after one has left one’s bounds of comfort.” For the health and sustainability of our sector, we need to have this “think free” mindset because old certainties don’t apply anymore, and we must unlearn and relearn. In this interactive session, we invite participants to imagine the future as more than just the extrapolation of the present.
Gundolf Graml, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Ursinus College (PA)
Elaine Meyer-Lee, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Goucher College (MD)
Chair: Gregor Thuswaldner, Professor of World Languages and Cultures and Former Provost and Executive Vice President, Whitworth University (WA)