The Presidential Practice is the academic equivalent of a fitness center where highly qualified presidents can work out complex institutional and cultural issues with the support and advice of a consulting team or a single adviser. Our small group knows how critical it is for leaders to have trusted and accomplished people to turn to at times of transition. For this reason, we have no junior partners and we limit our work to the counsel of presidents who are:

   · In their first few years as new, transferring or internally appointed presidents

   · Overseeing turning points in their institutions’ courses of action

   · Leaving their institutions for other presidencies or retirement

     The idea for The Presidential Practice (TPP) evolved out of our decade-long work with many of the presidents and chancellors who participated in two influential higher education research programs, the Pew Higher Education Roundtable and the Knight Higher Education Collaborative. Administered by the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Research on Higher Education, these programs provided from 1990 to 2000 a variety of opportunities for college and university leaders to work together and separately on issues of importance to the future of their own institutions as well as those of their colleagues.

     Many of the presidents and chancellors who first joined the Roundtable and Collaborative were either fairly new in their positions or were at critical points in the leadership of their institutions. They participated in multiple Roundtable and Collaborative projects over the course of a decade, which gave the Institute a catbird seat for observing why some of these individuals were able to bring about the profoundly positive changes that have ultimately outlasted their tenures.

     These lessons learned from the Roundtable and Collaborative, combined with the collective and individual wisdom of our colleagues who both survived and succeeded in their presidencies, form the foundation for The Presidential Practice. Our goal is to provide counsel that will help presidents and chancellors to have long and successful tenures, because we believe their success will benefit both the institutions they serve and the future of higher education.

  Ann Duffield and Jim Galbally

  Founding Principals

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   · The Presidential Practice serves at the behest of the president/chancellor and works either confidentially or with others designated by that leader.

   · We design each engagement based on a half-day meeting with the president when we determine how best we can serve his or her needs within the context of the institution’s or system’s needs.

   · We typically act as a team of at least one presidential partner and one TPP principal, the partner acting as a collegial sounding board and both the partner and the principal providing more in-depth counsel in priority academic and administrative areas. Depending on the scope and nature of the engagement, we sometimes provide just an individual, such as a presidential partner, or a larger team that can handle more complex projects that require multiple backgrounds and professional experiences.

   · Our team has the expertise to provide counsel in a broad range of professional areas from financial and strategic planning, communications, marketing, and relationship cultivation to board and governmental issues, new program development and fundraising.

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Diagnostic Visits: For New Leaders

     Many new presidents have told us they inherit institutional circumstances that they were unprepared for prior to taking office. Because of this, TPP offers what we call “diagnostic visits” with new presidents and chancellors. Four members of the TPP group meet for 1½ days with a new leader to discuss and analyze all aspects of the institution. The TPP team prepares for this visit by doing background research prior to their visit, and, following the visit, the team prepares a diagnostic report for the president with recommendations, next steps and ways to assess progress.

New Directions Think Tank: For Experienced Presidents

     Even the most seasoned presidents experience points during their tenures when they realize they need to take a “time out” to consider how best to continue steering their institutions into the future. TPP stands ready to provide either an individual member of our group or a two- or four-member team to brainstorm with a leader (and if desired, the senior leadership team).

The Other Half: Counsel for Presidents’ Partners

     The partners of our past presidents know what a presidency means to themselves and other members of their families. Some of these partners are available to provide confidential counsel to the partners of presidents and chancellors.

 Interim Counsel

     TPP is available to provide interim counsel for Boards who face presidential vacancies and would like to have either an interim leader or an interim team to steer the campus until a new leader is appointed.

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Commitment and Ethical Practice: We are committed to our clients and honor their confidentiality; furthermore, we pledge to be ethical in all of our professional relationships both within and outside of our Practice.

A Small and Balanced Bench of Expertise: We feel it is important for us to be a small organization—drawing on a limited number of principals and presidential partners—so that we can provide the individualized form of counsel to which we are committed.

Applied Research: We use what we learn during our engagements both to optimize our own performance and to develop, with client approval, case studies and “best practices” for the benefit of other college and university leaders.

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