Collaborating for an interdisciplinary approach

Researchers from every field recognize the value of an interdisciplinary approach that brings together scholars with diverse strengths to solve complex problems. Susan takes a similar approach to academic leadership by collaborating when it adds value for the client.

For over a decade, she has collaborated with CFAR-The Center for Applied Research, a management consulting firm with offices in Philadelphia and Boston, and CFAR principals Tom Gilmore and Larry Hirschhorn.

Tom is an architect by training who sees how the "big picture" of the organization links with its basic parts, ranging from business fundamentals to the psychodynamics between individuals on the executive team. Tom's book, Making a Leadership Change (CFAR, 2003), explores how change at the top can revitalize relationships and forge new directions for the organization.

Trained as an economist, Larry works from a multidisciplinary perspective. To answer the simple question "What's going on here?" he considers quantitative financial data, operational realities of the enterprise, organizational culture, and the psychodynamics of the leadership team. Larry's books include Reworking Authority and The Workplace Within (MIT Press, 1998 and 1990).

One promising area they have developed concerns ways to combine strategic planning and preparation for a major fund raising campaign.

Susan also collaborates with other well-known consultants and scholars:

Deborah Olsen is a developmental psychologist with 20 years of experience in higher education and institutional research. With strengths in quantitative methods, statistical analysis and survey design, her work on faculty productivity, job satisfaction and retention complements Susan Frost’s qualitative work on faculty, intellectual community and organizations. Other areas of expertise include assessment of student learning outcomes and financial aid discounting models. She is widely known for her scholarship and for work with accrediting associations across the nation.

Nancy Diamond is a historian who examines the growth trends of American universities and colleges. Co-author of The Rise of the New American Research University (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997), Nancy identifies and explains the historical context for current conditions and strength. Based on her expertise, she speculates about conditions for future development and brings those insights to her work.