The eight-month, applied and experiential program focuses on bringing ideas to practice, linking theory to relevant applications and scaling innovations in teaching and learning, leadership, finance and technology that can transform higher education institutions today and in the future.
focused on innovation
Washington, D.C., and Tempe, AZ
seminars and interviews with innovative speakers
The program is offered in an executive-style education schedule, combining four intensive meetings in Washington, D.C., and Phoenix with online seminars and executive coaching sessions throughout the program.
Most of the fellows who have successfully completed the program have worked in higher education for 7-10 years and are in a supervisory position, either on the academic or administrative side of the institution. Most are deans, associate or assistant provosts, vice presidents and senior vice presidents, and senior directors.
Academy fellows come from all institution types, but mirror American higher education: About 60-80 percent in each cohort come from public colleges and universities, and 30-40 percent from private nonprofit colleges.
In each of the face-to-face modules, fellows will learn from faculty who are leading experts and practitioners from inside and outside of higher education. From those sessions, fellows will take away tangible ideas that can be applied when they return to their campuses and disseminated to others.
The chance to step back from daily crises to think about the landscape of higher education, to hear from presidents and other leaders engaged with those challenges, and to learn with and from a cohort of colleagues small enough to understand each member's unique situation and challenges, but large enough to reflect the range of American higher education, should not be missed.
Mark Hoveyassociate provost, Wesleyan University
Cohort 12 application submission deadline is July 25, 2025
Module 1 – October 27-29, 2025
Washington, D.C.
Module 2 – January 12-14, 2026
Tempe, Arizona
Module 3 – April 20-22, 2026
Tempe, Arizona
Module 4 – June 1-3, 2026
Washington, D.C.
At the foundation of the academy is the expertise of two leading institutions – ASU’s innovative model for the next-generation research university and Georgetown’s mission to develop and sustain transformational leadership. Directing the academy is Jeffrey J. Selingo, a veteran higher-education author, journalist and former editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The academy sessions are a mix of case studies, simulations and fireside chats with leading thinkers, practitioners and presidents, including:
Jeffrey J. Selingo
Executive Director
The Academy for Innovative Higher Education Leadership
Darcie Milazzo
Program Lead
Cohort Co-Director and Academy Leadership Coach
Kim D’Abreu
Cohort Co-Director and Academy Leadership Coach
Randy Bass
Vice President for Strategic Education Initiatives
Professor of English, Georgetown University
Academy Faculty
Steve Galloway
Academy Leadership Coach
Kai Stowers
Academy Leadership Coach
Jose Antonio Bowen
Past President
Goucher College
Jennifer Brown
Past Provost
California State Polytechnic University in Pomona
Bryan Brayboy
Dean, School of Education and Social Policy
Northwestern University
Aminta H. Breaux
President
Bowie State University
Sylvia M. Burwell
Past President
American University
Lisa Camp
Past Chief of Staff & Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives, Office of the Provost
Case Western Reserve University
Lori Carrell
Chancellor
University of Minnesota Rochester
Dolly Chugh
Jacob B. Melnick Term Professor
New York University
Shirley Collado
Past President
Ithaca College
Scott Cowen
President Emeritus
Tulane University
Jennifer Cowley
President
The University of Texas at Arlington
Michael M. Crow
President
Arizona State University
John J. DeGioia
President Emeritus
Georgetown University
Kate Ebner
Past Cohort Co-Director
CEO, Founder & Leadership Coach, The Nebo Company
Hesham El-Rewini
Past Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs
Marymount University
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Ben Freakley
McCain Institute for International Leadership
Arizona State University
Mildred Garcia
Chancellor
The California State University
Lev Gonick
Chief Information Officer
Arizona State University
Nancy Gonzales
Executive Vice President and University Provost
Arizona State University
Gloria Gonzalez
Past Academy Leadership Coach
Nathan Grawe
Professor of Economics
Carleton College
Brian O. Hemphill
President
Old Dominion University
Freeman A. Hrabowski III
President Emeritus
University of Maryland Baltimore County
Nicole Hurd
President
Lafayette College
Charles Isbell
Provost
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Sukhwant Jhaj
Vice Provost for Academic Innovation and Student Achievement
Arizona State University
Walter Kimbrough
Past President
Dillard University
Patricia McGuire
President
Trinity Washington University
Juan Muñoz
Chancellor
University of California Merced
Daryl Nardick
Past Academy Leadership Coach
Diana Natalicio
Past President
University of Texas El Paso
Ben Nelson
Founder, Chairman and CEO of the Minerva Project
Santa Ono
President
University of Michigan
Christine Ortiz
Former dean of the graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and founder of Station 1
Lynn Perry Wooten
President
Simmons University
Noah Pickus
Past Cohort Co-Director
Associate Provost, Duke University
Carol Quillen
President Emerita
Davidson College
Susana Rivera-Mills
President
Aurora University
Garry Sanders
Past Academy Leadership Coach
Mark S. Smith, MD
Director
MedStar Institute for Innovation
Michael Sorrell
President
Paul Quinn College
Neil Stroul
Past Academy Leadership Coach
Beverly Daniel Tatum
President Emerita
Spelman College
Jason Wingard
Past President
Temple University
The academy energized me to look at higher education differently in a time of great change and encouraged me to build new leadership tools to assist my institution.
Paul Atchleyassociate dean, University of Kansas
Change in any industry is difficult, but it is particularly problematic in higher education with its unique culture and history of shared governance. This module examines the history of innovation within colleges and universities, helps fellows identify opportunities for innovation on their own campuses, and examines the modern-day barriers to innovation within institutions. Fellows explore how, as leaders, they can create the conditions for change by learning about the nature of leading in higher education and expanding their own capacity to contribute to innovation within their institutions. This first course invites fellows to consider the current state and context of their own institutions and what possibilities and opportunities for innovation exist on their own campuses.
The dominant model of higher education is rooted in an industrial age that favored a rigid, hierarchical system. The 21st-century economy demands a more flexible system, led with a focus on innovation, equity, collaboration and creativity. This module examines the institution as a dynamic system. Fellows will gain perspective on how to lead within and across the system, drawing upon the dynamics of organizational change. By learning how to better see the structures, cultures and realities of the organization, fellows will answer the question: What is my institution designed to do? How do things actually "get done" on a college or university campus? They will look at systemic issues, seemingly intractable challenges, and will imagine what high-performing universities might look like in the future, as both teaching and research enterprises.
By focusing on the unique strengths, qualities and aspects of their institutions and inviting a deeper inquiry into the design of the system and structures of the institution, fellows gain perspective on the innovation opportunities, landscape and readiness for change on their campuses. In this module, fellows bring their fieldwork into the program for rounds of feedback, redesign, rapid prototyping and collaborative work with their cohort. Fellows gain new perspectives on leading the innovation process and they further their campus based innovation ideas.
Higher education is a disrupted field greatly in need of creative, forward-looking leadership, yet many institutional leaders find their communities stuck in the stasis of the past. Today external challenges, both domestic and global, place complex demands on college and university leaders. Talented faculty with the potential to become future university leaders express reluctance to leave the classroom or research lab to serve in leadership roles, and those who do often feel unprepared to navigate the challenging new landscape. This final course focuses on integrating the concepts presented in the previous three sessions while teaching fellows the powerful and strategic skills of developing and articulating a compelling vision. Each fellow will examine his or her own leadership journey and will develop a bold and meaningful vision for the future, while defining how to make the mindset shifts necessary to confidently lead the innovative university of the future.
Cohort 12 application submission deadline is July 25, 2025
