Sept. 30, 2009
Center Valley, Pa. -- The third annual Patriot League Chief Academic Officers (CAO) meeting was held at the U.S. Military Academy on Sept. 21 and 22 in West Point, N.Y.
The purpose of the two-day meeting was to provide a forum for the sharing of ideas and developing relationships among Patriot League institutions, as well as to discuss academic themes and issues of common interest.
Patriot League Executive Director Carolyn S. Femovich represented the League, while the member institutions were represented by Brig. Gen. Patrick Finnegan (Army), Dean of the Academic Board; Michael Smyer (Bucknell), Provost; Jill Harsin (Colgate), Interim Dean of Faculty and Provost; Timothy Austin (Holy Cross), Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of College; Wendy Hill (Lafayette), Chief Academic Officer; Patrick Farrell (Lehigh), Provost and Chief Academic Officer; and Andrew Phillips (Navy), Chief Academic Officer.
The first session on Sept. 21 dealt with leadership development, including topics on strategic leadership, leading in extreme conditions, and how trust is a crucial element for effective leadership. The session was presented by the faculty from the U.S. Military Academy's Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership.
On the second day, the group met for a discussion and shared topics session, which included the role of the CAO and the governance strategies to engage the academic community when dealing with an economic downturn. It also featured a discussion on the impact of the economic recession on tenure, promotion, retirement and hiring strategies.
Additionally, Femovich delivered League updates on current issues and major initiatives across the League and Smyer presented plans for the Second Annual Patriot League Academic Conference, which will be held on Oct. 30-31 at Bucknell University.
Following the topical discussions, the group visited the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE). The CTE, located at the Academy, is designed to "enhance cadet intellectual development through high quality faculty development programs," as stated on its Web site. One of its main goals is to consult and provide resources to the many departments on campus, as well as deliver it to individual faculty.
The next Chief Academic Officers meeting is tentatively scheduled for next fall at a campus site to be determined.
