How rising higher education leaders are tackling their pressing campus challenges
May 10, 2021, By Daniel Himmelfarb, Associate Director, Account Management
EAB’s Rising Higher Education Leaders Fellowship is a nine-month, cohort-based experience that aims to build community, develop a depth of expertise in the topics and issues that matter most to institutional strategy, and provide focused professional skills development from EAB industry experts. Our inaugural cohort kicked-off in August 2020 and concluded in March 2021 with the presentation of the fellows’ capstone projects.
In each of the monthly sessions the fellows gained depth in new topics or terrains, developed leadership skills, and built a network with peers from institutions across the country. The topics covered included student success, budget models, change management, and more. The culminating experience for the EAB Rising Higher Education Leaders Fellowship was the capstone project that substantively contributes to the fellows’ professional advancement and helps solve a pressing challenge facing their home institutions. In addition to the content from the monthly subject-matter expertise and professional skills development sessions, the fellows also had access to EAB’s research library and experts and were paired with a “buddy” to help develop ideas and get feedback along the way.
The 18 fellows in the 2020 cohort tackled a wide range of issues in their capstone projects, reflecting the diversity of institutions and professional experiences of the participants. Several fellows deeply examined student success at their institutions, specifically focusing on equity issues. Others made recommendations for improving campus sustainability, building stronger online programs, and adjusting graduate tuition rates.
Below are a few of the key themes that appeared in multiple capstone projects. Scroll down to read about each of the capstone projects in the fellows’ own words
Office Hours with EAB
Hear two fellows talk about their experience as part of the inaugural class of EAB’s new Rising Higher Education Leaders Fellowship.
Improve student persistence toward college and toward graduation by:
- Incentivizing faculty to engage in student advising and mentoring
- Encouraging students to develop a college-going mindset
- Offering completion and retention grants
- Making sure the right students and mentors are getting into peer mentoring programs
Encourage lifelong learning through:
- Innovative educational offerings and delivery methods
- Applying an equity lens to recruitment, programming, support, and partnerships
- Strong retention for online undergraduate programs
Embrace transformational change for the institution by:
- Becoming carbon neutral in the next two decades
- Reviewing and updating the institution’s core curriculum
- Moving the institution’s strategic goals from promise to reality
- Linking the institution’s strategic plan to academic change and the institution’s mission
2020 EAB Rising Higher Education Leaders Fellowship capstone project summaries
The blog posts below are written by the participants to showcase their project and early outcomes.
Academic Program Planning
Going beyond COVID improvements to bolster the university’s online programs
Eric Brooks, Analyst; University of Wisconsin, Madison
Moving the University’s Transformational Plan into Action
Brent Fountain, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs; Mississippi State University
Strategic Academic Change: Planning with Purpose
Lila McDowell Carlsen, Associate Provost; Pepperdine University
Adult Learners
Considering the Impacts of COVID-19 on our Lifelong Learning Model
Maya Evans, Director Growth Strategies; University of Wisconsin, Madison
Serving Adults Through their Lifetime Learning Journey
Jennifer Palilonis, Director, Center for Emerging Media Design and Development; Ball State University
Business Affairs
Aligning graduate tuition structure with strategic goals
Kevin Gravina, Executive Director of Treasury, Investment, and Business Strategy; Colorado School of Mines
Why the right time is now to invest in renewable energy production on my campus
Les Potts, Associate VP for Administration; Mississippi State University
DEI
Creating an internal DEI scorecard for best practices
Kendra Killpatrick, Senior Associate Dean of Seaver College; Pepperdine University
Building a university-wide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion scorecard
Misty Benett, Assistant Dean; Central Michigan University
Lessons learned from changes to disability-related accommodations during the pandemic
Amy Capolupo, Director of Disability Student Services; University of Montana
Yielding the partnership pipeline
Renard Harris, Chief Diversity Officer; College of Charleston
Faculty Role in Student Success
Faculty’s role in student success: Reducing courses with high DFW rates
Yojanna Cuenca-Carlino, Assistant Vice President for Academic Administration; Illinois State University
Moving the needle on student success metrics by changing faculty incentives: Rewarding advising and student mentoring
Lynne Ford, Associate Vice President Academic Experience; College of Charleston
Student Success
Closing the equity gap in retention and persistence rates
Jonathon Russell, Associate Dean; Central Michigan University
Improving student retention through need-based scholarships
Mindy Markham, Associate Professor, Faculty Senate President; Kansas State University
Building a student success report from publicly available data: Making IPEDS data useful
Ben Brandon, Sr. Director of Student Success Analytics; Georgia State University