Betz Kerley The Executive Ed.D. Program in Higher Education is a two-year program taught in Atlanta to senior managers looking to gain a competitive advantage, learn new leadership skills, and achieve a global perspective on higher education. Dr. Charles B. Knapp (director, Executive Ed.D. Program and president emeritus of the University of Georgia), hosts a leadership series that brings a speaker with a vast range of experience to each meeting to give lectures about their own leadership styles, along with their vision of what it takes to be an effective leader in the 21st century. This year’s speakers included Veronica Biggins, Managing Director of Diversified Search and former Director of Presidential Personnel for President Clinton; Erin Hames, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy for Georgia Governor Nathan Deal; Hank Huckaby, Chancellor, University System of Georgia; Mark Musick, Chairman, Board of Directors of ACT and past president of SREB; and Casey Cagel, Lt. Governor of Georgia. Other notables who participated in this year’s series were: Tom Jackson (PhD, 2008), Vice President for Public Affairs, UGA and Nancy McDuff, Associate Vice President for Admissions and Enrollment Management at UGA. McDuff is also chair of the Association of Chief Admission Officers of Public Universities (ACAOPU). This group meets three times a year to share information and discuss issues that impact the admissions field. Leadership on all levels of education is evolving as we confront the challenges of preparing students to move forward into higher education. No one has taken this challenge more seriously than Dr. Knapp, currently a gubernatorial appointment to the Advisory Committee to the Georgia State Department of Education on Innovation Grants under the Race to the Top program. This is a $4 billion grant opportunity provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to support new approaches to school improvement. Georgia’s vision of this program as written in the application: “To equip all Georgia students, through effective teachers and leaders and through creating the right conditions in Georgia’s schools and classrooms, with the knowledge and skills to empower them to 1) graduate from high school, 2) be successful in college and/or professional careers, and 3) be competitive with their peers throughout the United States and the world.” Dr. Knapp is also a member of the Board of Directors of both GEEARS (Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students) and NCTAF (National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future). Knapp explains, “Since I was president of The University of Georgia I have spent a good bit of time on the issue of improving the quality of early, primary, and secondary education. The future of higher education rests to a significant degree on our ability as a country to improve the quality of education before students get to college. These boards have worked diligently to develop policies to implement new approaches to school improvement and education reform.” Doing what it takes to ensure students receive every opportunity to excel in school and beyond is in everyone’s best interest. Who knows which one of these students will one day be lecturing about leadership in the year 2040? Type of News/Audience: 2012 IHE Report
