He/Him/His
Pronouns
Inspiration
I have focused my life’s work on the transformative impact that a college education affords students and the campus and industry professionals who teach, advise, employ, and promote them. What that means is that I believe in the power of the individuals and organizations that make college come alive for students. I also believe that these contributors deserve to fully own their gifts, aspirations, and even the inevitable bumps that get in the way so that they can create their authentic success—on campus and off.
Guiding Values
Influence, Flow, Connection/Presence, and Transcendence
Path
My career as a university leader, lecturer, facilitator, author, and coach has taken me throughout the United States and abroad, working with highly complex organizations seeking to enhance their impact on the lives of those they are charged to serve. I have championed and led many organizational pivots, and I have established structures that have enhanced the capacity and professional energy of individual staff members, teams, and divisional leaders.
Approach
My practice integrates principles of career discernment, positive intelligence, organizational systems theory, and habit formation. I am trained as a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) and hold active membership as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation.
My client engagement leverages each individual’s creativity and resourcefulness. It emphasizes an appetite for confident choice and the positive momentum that follows. Most importantly, the designed alliance I co-create with my clients builds essential trust between us.
Demonstrated Campus Contribution
I have explored more college campuses than anyone I know, both as an administrator and as a consultant. I have served as a Director, Associate Dean, Assistant Vice-Chancellor, and Vice Provost on small private, large public, faith-based, and international institutions. I have also served as board member and President of a national association. I have led teams to deliver transformative programs in career success, experiential learning, international education/study abroad, research, tutoring/retention, and interpersonal communication/public speaking.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
On my office bulletin board, I have a note: “Diversity is being invited to the party; Inclusion is being asked to dance; Belonging is dancing like no one’s watching.” That last part always resonates with me—authentic and unguarded. As a white male, I’ve always had privilege and easy access, despite being bullied as a kid and coming out in college. My career in higher education has chipped away at my naivety about equity. I’ve led programs for underrepresented students and chaired LGBTQ initiatives in my communities. But I know it’s not enough. To truly make progress, we must engage, listen, and learn from those whose experiences are different from our own.
Teaching Memoir
Fueled by my career in higher education and the countless inspired campus practitioners I have known as an administrator and a coach, I wrote Tone Setters in the Academy: How to Build an Inspired Life as a University Administrator.
Recent Reads
Viewfinder by John M. Chu
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
The Happiness Curve by Jonathan Rausch
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
Administratively Adrift by Scott A. Bass
Roman Year by André Caiman
Burn Book by Kara Swisher
The Way Home by Ben Katt
Falling Upward by Richard Rohr
Additional Information
Abbreviated bio can be found here. CV and publications, presentations, and project lists are available upon request.