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Tune in for a captivating 90-minute virtual discussion as part of the HERS Critical Conversations Series. Experience first-hand accounts from three trailblazing college presidents as they unveil the reasons behind their pursuit of higher education leadership and the driving forces that keep them thriving. Get the inside scoop on the evolving world of academia, learn how to uncover your own “why,” and explore actionable tips for nurturing future leaders. Join us for a session full of wisdom and inspiration!
Leading in the current context of higher education is a daunting task. The value of an undergraduate degree is increasingly being questioned by the public at a time when our sector is facing a steep enrollment cliff and funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives is being slashed by state legislatures. There are countless other challenges – particularly for women and people of color in senior leadership roles—at a time when the average tenure of a college or university president is steadily decreasing (now at 5.9 years according to the ACE American College Presidents Study). So, why in the world would anyone want to pursue a presidency?
In this 90-minute virtual panel, part of the HERS Critical Conversations Series, we will hear from three college presidents about their decisions to pursue a higher education presidency and what sustains/sustained them in their respective roles. Each president will share her own perspective on the current state of higher education, advice for discovering your “why,” and strategies for supporting others in leadership. Participants will leave with both tools and hope for the future.
*Registrants’ seats in this workshop are not reserved until the registration form has been completed and payment has been received. All proceeds from registration fees will go toward the HERS Scholarship Fund.
¹ HERS is a nonprofit organization. All proceeds from this program’s registration fee will go directly toward the HERS Scholarship Fund.
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Dr. Marjorie Hass is a philosopher, leader, award-winning teacher, mentor, author, and one of the most influential thinkers in the independent higher education sector. She has led the Council of Independent Colleges since 2021.
Hass’ career at independent colleges has encompassed a wide range of roles, including professor, provost, and president. She is inspired by CIC’s impact on hundreds of member institutions and the more than two million students they serve. With a focus on sustainability and innovation, Hass is committed to ensuring CIC remains a valuable resource to help independent colleges and universities live out their unique missions vibrantly and fully. She guides CIC’s programming to ensure it engages a diverse membership; supports member financial health and innovation; and strengthens CIC’s role as a champion of independent higher education.
A philosopher by training, Hass earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in philosophy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has published widely on the philosophy of language, logic, and feminist philosophy and speaks frequently on leadership, shared governance, and the state and promise of the independent sector in higher education. Insightful and relevant, Hass combines first-hand leadership experience with data-informed analysis. She has a deep understanding of the challenges presidents face and compassion and admiration for the work that presidents and other campus leaders do.
Immediately before joining CIC, Hass served as president of Rhodes College. Previously, Hass served for eight years as president of Austin College. Earlier, she spent more than 16 years as a member of the philosophy faculty and subsequently as provost at Muhlenberg College. She is the author of A Leadership Guide for Women in Higher Education. She was included on the 2024 list published by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education highlighting 40 outstanding women in higher education, and was the recipient of the American Council on Education (ACE)’s 2024 Donna Shavlik Award, which honors an individual whose leadership demonstrates a sustained commitment to advancing women in higher education.
Hass was a member of the CIC Board of Directors from 2012 to 2016. She also has served as a board member of the Association of American Colleges & Universities and as former chair of the board of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. She is currently a member of the Board of Trustees at Brandeis University.
Dr. Tuajuanda Jordan has served as St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s (SMCM) seventh president since July 2014. During her tenure, the Board of Trustees approved A Time for Rebirth, a new three-year strategic plan that builds on the College’s charter as Maryland’s only public honors college and the first of its kind in the nation.
St. Mary’s College of Maryland has been widely recognized for its successes. Ranked among the nation’s best value colleges by The Princeton Review (2022) and among the top 10 best public liberal arts colleges in the nation by U.S. News & World Report (2022), SMCM continues to build upon its solid reputation for academic excellence under Dr. Jordan’s watch. Under her leadership, the College continues to analyze and assess its programming to ensure that students are provided opportunities to be engaged, productive global citizens and leaders.
Since joining the College, President Jordan has been widely recognized for her contributions to higher education and the larger community. In March 2023, she was named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women by the Daily Record. Recently, she was named a 2018 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow in Science Education. In 2017, she was named one of the Top 25 Women in Higher Education by the national magazine, Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
In addition to serving on numerous national panels and boards, she was recognized as a Black Leader in Education by the AFRO (2017), was named one of Fisk University’s Talented Tenth (2016), Purdue University’s Distinguished Women Scholars (2015-16), and as an Influential Marylander by the Daily Record (2015). She received an Education Excellence Award (2018) from the Southern Maryland Minority Chamber of Commerce, the Torchbearer Award (2014) from the National Coalition of Black Women, Baltimore Metropolitan Chapter and was inducted (2015) into the Zeta Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest academic honor society.
Prior to SMCM, Dr. Jordan served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and as a professor of chemistry at Lewis & Clark College in Oregon. While there, she helped recruit an exceptional and diverse faculty, launched a center for entrepreneurship, and developed a campus-wide system to increase student persistence and graduation rates. While an associate dean and tenured faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences at Xavier University of Louisiana, she helped establish the center for undergraduate research and creativity.
Dr. Jordan gained national prominence in the realm of science education with the creation of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science Education Alliance (SEA) program and the launch of its first initiative, the SEA Phage program, which engaged novice undergraduates in research in genomics and bioinformatics. This program has been implemented at more than 150 diverse institutions across the nation, impacted tens of thousands of students and faculty, and resulted in numerous scientific and pedagogical publications.
President Jordan holds a B.S. in chemistry from Fisk University and a PhD in biochemistry from Purdue University.
Dr. Suzanne M. Rivera has been President of Macalester College since 2020. Having worked in higher education for over 25 years, Dr. Rivera is an accomplished leader, instructor, researcher, and scholar. She is an advocate for social justice and brings a strong commitment to inclusion and equity to her role as president.
As President of Macalester, Rivera also participates in numerous civic and professional organizations. She is the Chair of the MIAC Presidents Council, Chair of the Board of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, and a member of the Executive Committees of the Minnesota Private College Council and the American Association of Colleges and Universities. Locally, she serves as a trustee of the Science Museum of Minnesota and of College Possible. Dr. Rivera also is a member of the Minnesota Women’s Economic Forum.
Prior to her appointment at Macalester, Rivera had academic and leadership roles at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio; UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas; and the University of California-Irvine.
Dr. Rivera earned her BA in American Civilization from Brown University, a Master of Social Work degree from the University of California-Berkeley, and a doctorate in Public Affairs with an emphasis on health policy from the University of Texas at Dallas. She and her husband, American Literature scholar Dr. Michael Householder, have two adult children, Antonio (and wife Eliza) and Elena.
This workshop is ideal for faculty and staff who have been considering a career path to a college/university presidency and are eager to hear from current and former presidents with significant experience leading in such a role during challenging times.
The world is changing faster and faster. To help higher education leaders and their institutions keep pace, it is essential that HERS provide supplemental programming to address new challenges and opportunities as they arise. Ultimately, by embracing and planning for change, institutions of higher learning and their leaders can provide a safer environment for their students while contributing more value to society at large.
Registration is limited to 70 people. Please note: you are not considered registered for this program until you have completed the registration form and paid the non-refundable $10 registration fee. If you are not one of the first 70 people to register, you will automatically be placed on a waitlist and notified when a spot becomes available.
As one of our partners, you can be a leader behind much-needed change in the educational sector. Support for our programs drives leadership equity, enabling institutions to better support an increasingly diverse student body and better prepare their students to create a more equitable society.