In the 2007 EIGER Distinguished Lecture at Virginia Tech, Susan Frost related practices of effective top leaders to factors successful interdisciplinary research programs share.  In Academic Leader she and Larry Hirschhorn explained how some leaders are matching donors with academic programs in innovative ways. In another issue of the newsletter, Susan explored ways to overcome obstacles to interdisciplinary research.

SUSAN FROST CONSULTING

How can a leader encourage all members of an institution to help shape its future while pursuing their own best ideas and goals?

How can an institution plan to draw strength from its own rhythms rather than impede those dynamic forces?

How can one whole institution tell its story while presenting its distinct parts as well?

Leaders of colleges and universities face such questions persistently as they try to unite and galvanize their complex organizations.

Susan Frost has over 15 years of experience in drawing on the best elements of an institution to shape new strategies for its future while engaging stakeholders and transforming pressures into productive changes. Because she recognizes that new strengths emerge organically from an institution's core, she does not rely on recipes or routine approaches. She works closely with leaders to look for the patterns and tensions that define a particular place and uses those forces as tools of change.

Areas of expertise include

• Working with the leader to shape and execute the strategic agenda
• Inventing academic partnerships to attract new funds
• Developing institutional narratives that advance progress
• Creating a more vibrant collaborative environment
• Measuring the effects of programs or practices
• Using accreditation requirements to advance strategic goals
• Enhancing stronger professional ties among community members, especially faculty