2026 Summit Agenda

---

Jim Johnsen: Jim Johnsen is vice president of executive search at Greenwood Asher and Associates (GA&A). With a background in, and passion for, leadership in higher education, business, and government, Jim has a deep understanding of the higher education landscape. He has successfully led numerous executive searches to fill critical positions such as presidents, chancellors, vice presidents, deans, and other key leadership roles in private and public institutions. He has also served as a coach to university presidents navigating major leadership challenges. 

Before joining GA&A, Jim served as President of the University of Alaska system, commissioner for the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education, board member of the National Association of Higher Education Systems, and member of the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. His proficiency in navigating the complex interplay of leadership, governance, and organizational politics positions him as a knowledgeable and trusted advisor. He has continued his contributions to scholarship and leadership development as a Senior Fellow at the National Association of Higher Education Systems (NASH), an affiliate faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley and advisory board member for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s McPherson Eye Research Institute. Jim’s publications include Public University Systems: Leveraging Scale in Higher Education (2024, Johns Hopkins University Press) and Public University Systems: Purpose, Impact and Adaptation (forthcoming, Johns Hopkins University Press). He also serves as Director of the NASH Executive Fellows leadership development program. 

Jim earned a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and degrees in political science from the University of Chicago and the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has additional post-graduate training in leadership at the Kennedy School of Government and in negotiation at the Harvard Program on Negotiation.

Session Summary:

In 2025 the National Association of Higher Education Systems (NASH) created a leadership development program to equip leaders of the nation’s college and university systems with the knowledge and skills needed to address the major challenges facing American higher education.  The NASH Executive Fellows program is based on the theory and practice of adaptive leadership and includes development of an individual leadership plan and application of collective impact, continuous improvement, Both/And thinking, and integrative negotiation. Comprised of adaptive leadership theory and Fellows the opportunity to develop and apply their own adaptive leadership plan to address a specific challenge in their system. Nancy Zimpher, NASH president, and Jim Johnsen, NASH senior fellow, will tell the story of how the program was developed and how they think it could serve as a model for leadership development in colleges and universities represented by SHEHRE.

Allison M. Vaillancourt, PHD 

Vice President and Senior Consultant, Segal,

Organizational Effectiveness Practice

Allison M. Vaillancourt, PhD is a vice president in Segal's organizational effectiveness practice. She brings more than 30 years of leadership and organizational strategy experience to her consulting engagements, with deep expertise in the areas of change management, human resources transformation, leadership development; organizational strategy; performance management, team dynamics; and workplace culture and climate assessments. 

Prior to joining Segal, Allison held leadership roles at several universities, most recently at the University of Arizona where she served as Vice President for Business Affairs and Human Resources and was an award-winning faculty member in the School of Government and Public Policy. 

Allison is a long-time contributor to The Chronicle of Higher Education and author of The Organizational Politics Playbook. 

Session Summary:  

Under mounting financial pressure, colleges and universities often resort to across-the board cuts or sweeping reductions in administrative infrastructure under the banner of “preserving the academic mission.” These blunt measures may offer short-term relief, but they frequently erode what matters most: academic excellence, research vitality, and student success. 

This session argues for a smarter path: cost leadership as a strategic advantage. True cost leadership is about clarity, courage, and reinvention. It means confronting institutional 6 complexity, making transparent tradeoffs, and redesigning legacy structures that quietly drain resources and stall innovation. 

Discover how visionary higher education leaders are rewriting the playbook—partnering across finance and academics to align people strategy with mission, unleash institutional agility, and build resilient systems that will define the next era of higher education. 

Learning Objectives:

      1. Distinguish cost containment from cost leadership and articulate        

           the risks and benefits of each approach in higher education.

      2. Identify and assess five evidence-informed strategies most likely 

          to produce significant, sustainable resource gains.

      3. Apply core change-management principles to design a cost 

          leadership initiative that protects academic quality and 

          strengthens institutional resilience. 

Dr. Andy Brantley has served as CUPA-HR's President and chief executive officer since July 2005. 

Before joining CUPA-HR, he worked for 17 years in campus leadership roles including associate vice president and chief human resources officer at the University of Georgia, director of human resources at Davison College, and director of human resources as the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Andy received his Bachelor of Business Administration, master of Arts in Business Administration, and Doctorate in Higher Education Management from the University of Georgia.

Andy currently serves on the Washington Higher Education Secretariat steering committee and in September of 2025, He completed a four-year term as the Secretariat's representative to the American Council on Education Board of Directors. He was also recently appointed to the EDUCAUSE board of directors. 

Andy is a frequent keynote and workshop presenter at meetings across the country.

Session Summary:

The past year has brought significant change and uncertainty to higher education and higher education leaders. We face new compliance requirements, budget cuts, layoffs, and leadership shifts, all while supporting employees who are overwhelmed and concerned about the future. Our challenge is to create an environment where employees and institutions can work through the uncertainty, thrive, and grow. During this presentation, we will discuss specific actions you can take to adapt to change and create and sustain a resilient, psychologically safe environment for yourself and your team.

Here’s the outline of the session (includes a group breakout session:

• Campus culture and conflict
• Higher education as an employer of choice
• Resilience, psychological safety and adaptability
• Gratitude and Grace
• Closing Comments

Anne Ollen, 

Managing Director, Head of Programs and Operations TIAA Institute

Anne develops and executes TIAA Institute programs that seek to build and share knowledge important to higher education and other nonprofit leaders about drivers of change and innovative solutions and strategies in three broad thematic areas: leadership, workforce trends, and organizational effectiveness. Anne leverages the Institute’s pillars of work – research, partnerships, convenings and strategic communications – to bring distinctive value to Institute stakeholders in alignment with TIAA business priorities. 

Anne’s career spans 30+ years of experience in front-line business, marketing, operational, and leadership roles at TIAA. She was part of the founding team of the TIAA Institute in 1998, helping to create and launch several Institute signature initiatives, including the TIAA Institute Fellows Program, the Higher Education Leadership Conference, and the TIAA Institute Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence in Higher Education. 

Session Summary:  

 This presentation explores how artificial intelligence and increased longevity are fundamentally reshaping the workplace and workforce needs, with particular relevance for higher education institutions. Drawing on research from the TIAA Institute and other leading sources, the session will examine three interconnected forces reshaping our workforce landscape – AI’s unprecedented transformation requiring 39% of workers to update core skills by 2030, the evolution toward life stage-appropriate benefits, and longevity fitness as individuals navigate 100-year lifespans. The discussion will provide actionable insights considering both technological disruption and demographic shifts that will define the next decade of work.