Executive Director, The Aspen-Kern Program for Leadership and Character in Higher Education

ABOUT US

The Aspen Institute

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Since its founding in 1949, the Institute has been driving change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most critical challenges facing communities in the United States and around the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, and an international network of partners.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

To achieve our mission of a more free, just, and equitable society, we commit to working proactively to advance the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion across our myriad endeavors such as the recruitment, compensation, training, and advancement of staff. The best people-serving institutions make this commitment, and we seek to be a leader in the ways that we do so and learn from others. Visit our website to learn more about our commitment and recent actions taken toward building and nurturing a diverse and inclusive environment.

Leadership Division

The Leadership Division of the Aspen Institute builds off its 70-year history of developing leaders across generations and place to become more effective, values-based leaders. Today, the Division includes (1) the Seminars Department, (2) the Aspen Global Leadership Network; (3) Weave: The Social Fabric Project, which connects and supports grassroots community leaders.

The Seminars Department (Seminars) curates leadership seminars for individuals, external partners, and clients. The guiding principle of all Seminars programs is the belief that the problems we face in society are moral, not technical. As such, we must all take the time and the space to become more self-aware, self-correcting, and ultimately self-fulfilling individuals, in the sense of putting our talents in service to something greater than ourselves. The Seminars Department is responsible for hosting the Institute’s signature Aspen Executive Seminar on Leadership, Values, and the Good Society, The Justice and Society Seminar, and Custom Leadership Seminars for corporations and other organizations to meet their unique needs. The Department runs approximately 50 seminars each year; what unites them is a commitment to moral inquiry, open dialogue with diverse perspectives, and the exploration of human flourishing as we seek to lead ourselves and others.

Aspen-Kern Program for Leadership and Character in Higher Education

The Aspen-Kern Program for Leadership and Character in Higher Education seeks its inaugural Executive Director. A collaboration of the Aspen Institute and the Kern Family Foundation, this program seeks to support and embolden new college presidents (in their first to third years) of four-year institutions to embed and expand the non-technical elements of undergraduate education—liberal education directed toward character formation for democratic citizenship and greater human flourishing. In addition to providing character-based leadership development, the program will foster a greater understanding of the relationship between character and the purpose of education, a refined vocabulary for communicating the importance of character education, concrete support for applying and integrating insights into college life, and a cohort (and network) of mutual support and accountability to last a lifetime.

Building upon Aspen’s seven decades of humanities-based leadership development, the founding of more than a dozen fellowships across the globe, and existing work with college and university presidents, the Program will:

• build and connect a national cadre of servant leaders committed to undergraduate character education for democratic citizenship and greater human flourishing;
• foster a commitment to character education as a criterion for selection of college presidents;
• provide tangible support for the “how to” of leading an institution, incorporating character and flourishing in ways that are transformative for learners and teachers alike;
• disseminate existing and support current research on character education;
• provide national (and global) thought leadership about the role of character education in human flourishing.

The Program will select 20 new presidents of four-year institutions representing varied geographies and institutional types each year. Fellows will attend 4 seminars over 2 years (with options for additional seminar participation), will have access to educational and practical resources, and will have fellowship-specific and broader Aspen networking opportunities. The key components of the Program are:

• four leadership seminars over two years, plus intermediate virtual programing, including practical advice from current/former presidents;
• resource materials on character, viewpoint diversity, and human flourishing;
• optional programming for individuals and institutions, including customized Aspen seminars for academic institutions and coaching/mentoring with current/past presidents;
• a network and network hub linking alumni and other networks;
• a national community of practice dedicated to strengthening character education and contributing to the national dialogue on education.

The impact of this fellowship will be considerable, not only for the participating institutions but for educational leadership more generally. Four cohorts over 5 years will engage 80 presidents, or approximately 3% of the approximately 2,800 four-year undergraduate institutions in the US. Should the program prove successful, ten cohorts over 11 years will engage 200 presidents, approximately 7% of the 2,800 four-year undergraduate institutions. The prestige of the program will foreground well beyond the fellowship the importance of character formation and human flourishing in the selection of presidents; the students, parents, faculty, and trustees affected by these institutional leaders will become additional ambassadors for character education.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

The Executive Director is responsible for overseeing the strategic, programmatic, operational, and financial success of the Program. The Executive Director provides strong leadership to a program with one additional staff member and an annual budget of approximately $1.7M guaranteed for four cohorts across five years. Likewise, the Executive Director promotes cross-departmental and cross-Institute collaboration, including with the work of the College Excellence Program. These responsibilities are achieved with an unwavering focus on viewpoint diversity, human flourishing, justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The Executive Director is responsible for managing the Program, with the help of the Seminars Department and Institute staff, consistent with the vision and Program structure outlined above. The Executive Director will be responsible for recruiting, selecting, and strengthening each class of Fellows, advising on curriculum and other resources, fostering ongoing engagement among alumni, and expanding the Program’s networks of mutual support and learning.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Program Leadership

• refine and execute program design and strategies, as well as the operational steps to implement them;

• work with Program and Seminars staff to challenge and support Fellows through the Fellowship experience, from selection and seminars to alumni engagement;
• oversee program finances, including judicious use of funds in alignment with program intention and objectives;
• be a persuasive and inspiring representative of the program externally and within the Institute;
• manage relationships with, leverage, and support members of the Board of Advisors;
• help select and manage a cadre of coaches and their deployment;
• steward relationships and shared norms within the Aspen Institute and with the Kern Family Foundation, integrating the Program fully with the Leadership Division, Seminars Department, the College Excellence Program and other and Policy Programs (as appropriate);
• engage as a good citizen of the Aspen Institute community of leaders, creating broader ties across the Institute to coordinate strategy, programming and integration with the broader mission and activities of the Institute;
• guide and oversee the annual process of recruiting and vetting potential Fellows and make final selection decisions, in collaboration with the Executive Director of Seminars and the Program Board of Advisors;
• assist in the selection of moderators and development of leadership programming for the Program, including readings, themes, and progression, in collaboration with the Executive Director of Seminars and the Program Board of Advisors;
• work with senior leadership at the Institute (including the College Excellence Program) to identify potential partnerships and opportunities with other institutions and efforts adjacent to the field of higher education;
• other related tasks as assigned by the Director of Seminars and EVP of the Leadership Division, and suggested by the Program Board of Advisors.

Program Administration

• lead the Program team (one program coordinator in the first instance, growing as the number of Fellows increases) and supervise assigned personnel by:
  • making employment decisions, reviewing employee performance, and determining salary;
  • assigning work, providing training, and guiding and advising subordinates as necessary.
• manage the financial condition of the program and ensure operations align with program intention, objectives, and approved budgets by overseeing:
  • budget and financial performance activities, including the preparation and management of an annual budget;
  • seminar and program schedules, vendor contracts, and event staffing assignments as applicable.

Communications and Research

• oversee strategic and tactical communications for all stakeholders, including the development of ever-widening recruiting and network pipelines;
• work with the senior leadership team to develop and execute a strategic communication plan;
• develop written and other materials on the program for stakeholder and public audiences;
• conceptualize, direct, supervise and contribute to the preparation, editing, and dissemination of research and other materials;
• stay abreast of important emerging issues in higher education;
• contribute to Divisional learnings by sharing evaluations, analysis, and lessons learned;
• serve as a primary point of contact regarding the Program, personally and routinely interacting with Fellows, Advisors, Executive Vice Presidents and other Institute leadership, external funders, and leaders, advocates, and experts in education.

Program Impact

• ensure that Fellows make meaningful and measurable commitments to the integration of character, viewpoint diversity, and human flourishing in liberal arts education, both in their respective institutions and as thought leaders in the broader ecosystem of higher education;
• support Fellows in their leadership journeys, individually and by connecting them with peers and mentors in relationships of mutual support and accountability;
• create the conditions for Fellows to work collaboratively with each other and with others in the broad Aspen and Kern networks of leaders in education and other fields;
• foster the dissemination of learning and materials on character and human flourishing more broadly in the ecosystem of higher education and beyond.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO THRIVE

The Program seeks a visionary and dedicated Executive Director who, in concert with the Executive Director of Seminars and the Board of Advisors, ensures that the Program realizes its fullest impact and mission. This individual will demonstrate a knowledge of and commitment to liberal education, character development, and viewpoint diversity, and have a proven track record of moving initiatives from concept to implementation and growth, as well as a demonstrated ability to build partnerships and manage resources in support of organizational strategic initiatives. The candidate must have credibility with college presidents, but need not have been a college president or had employment immediately in higher education. The candidate must have demonstrated familiarity with the leadership challenges of complex organizations with multiple stakeholders.

The candidate will be comfortable with ambiguity and see ambiguity as a critical component of the creative process. The candidate will also have the ability to work through ambiguity to take decisive actions based on long-term strategic thinking and vision. The candidate should be a coalition builder who is able to work across multiple stakeholder groups, to garner the respect of different constituencies, and to listen to different voices and opinions. Additionally, the candidate will be able to synthesize key learnings into a coherent approach to refining and implementing the Program’s vision. As such, this individual will be an experienced broker of partnerships and a natural connector. The successful candidate will understand and deeply value introspection and reflective dialogue as key to cultivating human flourishing and democratic citizenship.

The performance and personal competencies required for the position include:

• commitment to and the ability to articulate an inspiring and powerful vision of character and human flourishing in higher education;
• a credible understanding of and demonstrated experience in organizational leadership;
• a comfort with and tolerance for engaging a wide variety of ideological and other viewpoints;
• substantial familiarity with research, leadership education, and communications;
• the ability to set clear and challenging goals while committing the organization to improved performance;
• tenacity and accountability in driving results;
• comfort with ambiguity and uncertainty; the ability to adapt nimbly and lead others through complex situations;
• strong interest in the work and mission of the Aspen Institute and the ability to represent the organization externally;
• a high and evident degree of integrity and forethought in approaching decisions;
• the ability to act in a transparent and authentic manner while always taking into account what is best for the organization;
• personal and professional commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and the ability to attract and recruit top talent, motivate the team, delegate effectively, celebrate diversity within the team, and manage performance;
• a strong commitment to developing the capacity and character of others;
• the ability to persevere in the face of challenges and a steadfast resolve and relentless commitment to higher standards, which commands respect from followers;
• the capacity for self-reflection and self-correction, including an awareness of one’s own and other’s limitations, being open to feedback and self-improvement;
• the ability to lead by example and drive the organization's performance with an attitude of continuous improvement;
• a disposition to contribute to a collaborative model of decision-making;
• excellent cultural competence and experience working directly with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds and interests;
• strong emotional intelligence and an ability to communicate clearly and persuasively in ways that build natural connections and strong relationships with others;
• an ability to inspire trust and followership in others through compelling influence, powerful charisma, passion in their beliefs, and active drive;
• willingness to share the spotlight with and visibly celebrate the success of others;
• a sense of purpose and meaning for the team that generates loyalty, beyond individual personality, to the values and mission of the organization as a whole;
• the ability to travel, as required.

TO APPLY

Susan VanGilder and Lisa Solinsky have been exclusively retained for this search. To express interest in this role please submit a compelling cover letter and resume using EDAspenKern@storbecksearch.com. Nominations are also welcome at this email address. All applications, inquiries, and discussions will be considered strictly confidential. You can find more information here.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Aspen Institute offers a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, and prescription benefits, retirement benefits, and paid leave. The Aspen Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all District and federal laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or protected veteran or disabled status and will not be discriminated against. If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation regarding the accessibility of our website, a modification or adjustment of the job application or interview process due to a disability, contact HRSupport@aspeninstitute.org or call (202) 736-5800.

The compensation available for the role considers a variety of factors including, but is not limited to, work location, individual skill set, previous/applicable experience, and other organizational needs. The estimated salary range for this role is $200,000 - $230,000. This salary range represents the Aspen Institute’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the possible base salary and is one part of the total rewards the organization provides to employees.