Attorney Artis Hampshire-Cowan spent more than two decades at Howard University, where she served as senior vice president and secretary of the board and held several interim positions including COO and acting president. With that arsenal of leadership and governance experience, Hampshire-Cowan recently entered the highly competitive world of college consulting, as a senior fellow at AGB Consulting, a component of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.
She is among a growing number of higher education leaders who have transferred their skill sets from academia to the consulting career track, a path that many senior administrators in academia are taking as more national and global professional services firms develop higher education practices.
It can be a lucrative area, particularly for presidential search consultants. According to a study released in June by Dr. James Finkelstein, a professor emeritus of public policy at George Mason University, an increasing number of universities are using search firms to find presidential candidates. The study, which reviewed presidential search contracts at 61 public institutions, found that the firms were paid between $25,000 and $160,000 for their services, with the average fee being $78,769.
After being part of the leadership team at Howard, one of the nation’s largest historically Black institutions, Hampshire-Cowan says she moved into consulting because “I know and understand corporate governance … and because I’m known as a special-forces-turnaround person and a mission-driven person.”
She also has “a passion for helping HBCUs,” as an alumna of Morris Brown College and because of her years at Howard.
Hampshire-Cowan, who served under four presidents at Howard, occasionally faced difficulties and controversies during some of those administrations. “Anyone having served in the roles that I’ve served in, in a large, complex organization will face challenges and adversity and there are lots of lessons learned and scars earned, but for me, Howard was worth that,” she explains.
Inside consulting
