In 2019, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) newfound Presidential Leadership Academy (La Academia de Liderazgo) dedicated itself to help prepare aspiring leaders and bolster Hispanic representation in higher ed presidencies. Now entering its fifth year, the academy is bigger and stronger than ever.
A “direct response” to the underrepresentation of Hispanic university presidents amid growing Hispanic college student enrollment, the academy opened its doors with the goal of educating and training those in higher education’s upper management such as deans, assistant deans, and vice presidents. The goal was to build these individuals into well-equipped leaders and presidents. It also came with a special focus on training individuals to guide Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) into the future.
"The program zeroes in on the things that senior administrators need to know to be effective and successful,” says HACU President and CEO Dr. Antonio R. Flores. “It's a whole range of important things — that presidents deal with on a regular basis as senior administrators — that we focused our curriculum on."
To operate well as presidents, administrators must be knowledgeable about a wide range of topics, Flores says, including governance, financial management, public affairs and media, student services and affairs, faculty relations, and school advocacy before elected officials.
Teaching the participants would be La Academia’s faculty of sitting presidents, recently retired presidents, and provosts. The aspiring leaders get a chance to partake in mock presidential interviews and receive feedback.
Through a mix of instruction, seminars, panels, groupwork, social networking, and readings, the fellows can be better prepared to take the reins when the time came.
According to past participants, the academy has delivered. Former fellows — the program is now kicking off its fifth cohort in October 2023 — have praised La Academia for not only teaching them the skills they needed for successful presidencies, but for helping expand their understandings of the landscape and for bringing them together as a tight-knit community.
