WASHINGTON – Demand exceeded expectations Monday when 89 higher education leaders from underrepresented populations registered for the Millennium Leadership Initiative (MLI) gathering at the annual meeting of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).
MLI director Dr. Mary Evans Sias had hoped for 50 attendees at the 20th annual fall symposium, themed “Own Your Future: How Will You Lead?” But interest was so high in the selective leadership program, which was created to diversify the ranks of college administrators, that she made arrangements to accommodate the 78-percent increase.
MLI’s data-driven pipeline efforts continue as higher education sees a continued rise in the percentage of students of color, a decline in the perennially small percentage of minority faculty and administrators, and the advent of a season when the majority of current college and university presidents will retire within seven years.
Preparing leaders from underrepresented groups means a big dose of reality and helping them understand what to expect, said Sias.
“You’re not trying to be a president just to be a president,” she said. “It must be a good fit. It’s a 24-7 job. You need a certain amount of energy and engagement.”
Ten Black presidents of colleges and universities established MLI in 1999 out of concern about a dearth of minorities in the administrative ranks of higher education. The eight men and two women quickly attracted the support of like-minded academics and grew the organization, later coming under the auspices of the AASCU.
Since MLI’s inception, 570 participants have graduated, with 104 having held 134 presidencies at a range of colleges and universities. Others have gone on to various high-profile positions inside and outside the higher education sector, including ambassadors and chief executive officers, Sias noted.
