“The Forum offers a place where university leaders can have honest and candid discussions on even the most sensitive topics. The perspective of my peers on these issues is invaluable.”
2020-21 CHAIR
WESTERN ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP FORUM
A distinctive network for four-year college academic leaders
The Western Academic Leadership Forum (Forum) is a membership organization that serves as a collaborative network to exchange ideas and information, share resources and expertise among provosts, academic vice presidents, chief executives, and chief academic officers at WICHE-region public and private doctoral, master’s, and bachelor’s level institutions and related systems offices and state agencies.
What makes an institution’s message resonate with diverse stakeholders, ranging from legislators to donors to communities to students? How can universities better support wellness on their campuses? What features do diverse learning communities have in common, and how can academic leaders help incubate them?
These are just some of countless issues of distinct concern to provosts, but common to peer, four-year institutions across the Western United States. Together, Forum network participants seek solutions to these and other issues that are beyond the scope of a single institution or state on behalf of members.
A key facet of the Forum is that its activities and priorities are selected and shaped by the senior academic leaders who drive the conversation at colleges and universities throughout the West. This peer-driven, collaborative approach ensures relevance and timeliness, and adds intangible value to every interaction.
The Forum’s roots extend back more than 30 years, to the 1984 establishment of the Northwest Academic Forum with 11 member states–expanded in 2008 to its current form encompassing WICHE’s 16 member states and territories.
“The Forum offers a place where university leaders can have honest and candid discussions on even the most sensitive topics. The perspective of my peers on these issues is invaluable.”
2020-21 CHAIR
WESTERN ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP FORUM