Norwich University is pleased to announce that Dr. Natalia Blank, associate provost for academic affairs and assessment is one of 45 midlevel administrators in higher education nationwide selected by the Council of Independent Colleges to participate in the 2018-19 Senior Leadership Academy.
Individuals chosen for the yearlong program are administrators in higher education who have been identified by their institutions as having the potential for senior leadership positions in independent colleges or universities. Blank will participate in an opening seminar Nov. 2 to Nov. 4, 2018 in St. Louis, and a closing seminar June 20 to June 22, 2019 in Washington, D.C. She also will undertake a mentoring program, work with experts, participate in webinars and engage in a series of readings and case studies during the academic year.
The academy is designed to prepare leaders to assume chief officer positions in any division — including academic affairs, student affairs, finance, enrollment management and advancement — in independent higher education.
“Because the generation of senior leaders now on campus is rapidly approaching retirement, the need for able new leaders is significant,” Council of Independent Colleges President Richard Ekman said. “Competition for the available places in the program was intense, and the review committee found the nomination materials to be most impressive. They (and I) believe that Natalia Blank has the potential for highly effective leadership in a position of senior responsibility on campus.”
Blank joined Norwich University in 2005 after receiving her doctorate in chemistry from Dartmouth College. She is a tenured associate professor in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department; she teaches organic chemistry for students majoring in STEM disciplines. As an associate provost, Blank oversees curriculum development and assessment; creation and implementation of academic policies; student academic support and advising among other things. Before taking her current position, Natalia served as a founding director of Norwich University’s Honors Program and a Chemistry Department chair.
“Dr. Blank demonstrates great potential through her foresight to establish and direct pivotal University initiatives,” Provost and Faculty Dean Dr. Sandra Affenito said. “She has the proven ability to advance universitywide agendas across all disciplines and co-curricular units whose focus on retention and persistence complemented the work of academic committees. I look forward to providing my support and direction as a mentor to Dr. Blank throughout this leadership program.”
Sixty-one percent of participants in the first Senior Leadership Academy cohort (2010-11) have advanced in their careers, and 28 percent of all participants in SLA thus far have earned more advanced positions. “These indicators suggest that CIC is helping to meet the leadership needs of higher education by offering highly effective leadership development programs for modest fees to member institutions,” Ekman said.
The academy is co-sponsored by council, the American Academic Leadership Institute and Academic Search Inc. American Academic Leadership Institute President Linda M. Bleicken will direct the program.
Visit www.cic.edu/seniorleadershipacademy for more information about the Senior Leadership Academy.
About Norwich University
Norwich University is a diversified academic institution that educates traditional-age students and adults in a Corps of Cadets and as civilians. Norwich offers a broad selection of traditional and distance-learning programs culminating in Baccalaureate and Graduate Degrees. Norwich University was founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge of the U.S. Army and is the oldest private military college in the United States of America. Norwich is one of our nation's six senior military colleges and the birthplace of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).
Norwich will celebrate its bicentennial in 2019. In fulfillment of Norwich’s mission to train and educate today’s students to be tomorrow’s global leaders, Norwich launched the Forging the Future campaign in 2014. The five-year campaign, which is timed to culminate in 2019, is committed to creating the best possible learning environment through state-of-the-art academics and world-class facilities and is designed to enhance the university’s strong position as it steps into its third century of service to the nation.
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