Three decades of dedication to strengthening leadership in higher education
through searches for college
and university presidents and senior administrators.
HISTORY
For three decades, Academic Search has been offering executive search services to higher education and related organizations.
In 1976, presidential and trustee-based associations in Washington, DC founded the Academic Search Consultation Service (ASCS) with the intent to provide all colleges and universities with highly professional search services. The new organization was charged to take best practices in search from other sectors and adapt them to the requirements for academic leadership.
ASCS was an immediate success: as higher education's first search firm, it wrote the book on how to do search on campus and achieved breakthrough results in the launch of successful presidencies and senior administrative positions.
Today, 24 senior consultants, all former presidents, vice presidents, deans, or senior administrators, serve higher education and related organizations with unparalleled skill, efficiency and success. At Academic Search, WE are committed to strengthening leadership in higher education.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The following principles guide the work of Academic Search and display our Commitment to ServiceThe search is a combined effort of client and consultant, with final authority vested in the client.
Each institution is unique. Academic Search tailors its process to meet the needs and expectations of the client.
We invest extensive time and effort to learn about the institution. A signature of our process is the presearch study report, based on an intensive on-campus interview process. The report enumerates the institution’s leadership; characteristics and talents required to address these challenges; and suggested procedures for the search.
Academic Search believes in the importance of the client-consultant relationship. For this reason, the consultant who presents search services to a prospective client is assigned to the search. He or she attends every meeting of the search committee and provides steady support and guidance at each stage of the process.
At Academic Search, professional consultants do all candidate generation and reference checking. While it is extremely time consuming to identify, cultivate, and vet candidates, this work requires the maturity, judgment, and experience professional staff have gained from years of experience on campuses, in national higher education organizations, and from working directly with search committees and governing boards.
Academic Search and the committee must be aggressive in seeking out the best qualified candidates. We identify and cultivate outstanding candidates and encourage promising nominees to apply. Candidates generated by Academic Search enter the pool in the same manner as all other candidates, and their credentials stand on their own merit. Nevertheless, Academic Search generates a large majority of the candidates our clients eventually appoint.
Academic Search knows that an effective search yields more than a new president or vice president. It is a pivotal opportunity to seek consensus about institutional goals, model effective decision making, enhance relationships with constituents, and raise public awareness of the institution and its achievements.
CONSULTANTS
James P. Ferrare, president, is the former dean of the school of education at Drake University.
Bruce T. Alton, senior consultant, joined Academic Search in 1986 and has served over 120 searches, 100 of those for the presidency.
James B. Appleberry, senior consultant, is president-emeritus of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).
Herman E. Collier, Jr., senior consultant, is President Emeritus of Moravian College.
Thomas B. Courtice, senior consultant, joined Academic Search having served a total of 27 years in the academic presidency.
John A. DiBiaggio, senior consultant, is also president emeritus of Tufts University after having served as the eleventh president.
Bill J. Franklin, senior consultant, is the former president of the Texas International Education Consortium (TIEC).
Elaine H. Hairston, senior consultant, joined Academic Search after eight years as chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents.
R. Stanton Hales, senior consultant, joined Academic Search after serving as president of The College of Wooster for 12 years.
John B. Hicks, senior consultant, is secretary emeritus to the Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama System.
Maya Ranchod Kirkhope, senior consultant, has worked in higher education for the past twenty years and specifically with presidents and governing boards for the past ten years.
Harold M. Kolenbrander, senior consultant, joined Academic Search in 2001 after serving as interim president of Alma College.
Robert W. Lawless, senior consultant, joined Academic Search after eight years as the president of the The University of Tulsa.
Theodore J. Marchese, senior consultant, served 18 years as vice president of the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE).
Garry W. Owens, senior consultant, served as founding dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Texas Tech University.
Robert E. Parilla, senior consultant, served for 20 years as president and CEO of Montgomery College in Maryland.
John E. Pickelman, is chancellor emeritus of the North Harris Montgomery Community College District (NHMCCD), a position he held from March 1, 1991 to August 31, 2007.
Susan Resneck Pierce, senior consultant, who joined Academic Search in 2006, is president emerita of the University of Puget Sound.
Frank G. Pogue, senior consultant, joined Academic Search in 2007 after serving as President of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania for eleven years.
Peter H. Ruger, senior consultant, is also a member of the law firm of Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt, P.C.
Roy B. Shilling, senior consultant, is president emeritus of Southwestern University.
Ronald S. Stead, senior consultant, is now in his twenty-seventh year of service to college and university search committees and has seen to conclusion over 150 searches, all but eleven of them for presidents or chancellors.
Julie E. Tea, senior consultant, has over fifteen years of experience in higher education and has been leading senior level searches for eight years.
Patricia T. van der Vorm, senior consultant, served as an administrator at American University for 18 years.
Judith B. Ward, senior consultant, joined from an independent development and external relations consulting practice.
Michael C. Weston, senior consultant, is past president of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA).