Academy Kicks Offs 10th Year of Higher Ed Leadership Development

19 participants hail from across the West representing a range of areas from nursing education, the arts, campus libraries, and career readiness services

BOULDER, COLORADO — The Western Academic Leadership Academy has selected its 10^th cohort of chief academic officers to participate in a yearlong professional development experience designed to equip them with the skills, insights, and network needed to lead in today’s complex postsecondary landscape.

Hosted through the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), the Academy is sponsored annually by two of WICHE’s membership groups focused on campus leadership — the Western Academic Leadership Forum (the Forum) and the Western Alliance of Community College Academic Leaders (the Alliance) — which serve four-year and two-year postsecondary institutions in the West, respectively.

Held last week in Boulder, Colorado, the Academy’s intensive, two-and-a-half-day professional development seminar kicked off a yearlong process of building the leadership skills and functional knowledge of academic leaders aspiring to become chief academic officers in the West’s postsecondary two-year and four-year sectors.

Representing 10 states from across the region, cohort members focus on developing practical skills in academic affairs, fiscal affairs, student affairs, and external relationships, with special attention given to the unique geographical and institutional needs of the West’s higher education community.

Members of the 2025 Academy cohort are:

• Vicki Aycock (Arapahoe Community College)
• Ray Ball (University of Alaska Anchorage)
• Chelle Batchelor (Western Oregon University)
• Shelley Bodily (Salt Lake Community College)
• Karen Bowen (Laramie County Community College)
• Maneka Brooks (Portland State University)
• Beth Durodoye (Montana State University Northern)
• Erin Farb (Front Range Community College)
• David Farrow (Northeastern Junior College)
• Andrew Fields (University of Idaho)
• MD Haque (University of La Verne)
• Karsten Hueffer (University of Alaska Fairbanks)
• Anne Marie Jacobson (Front Range Community College)
• Chris McGilvray (Front Range Community College)
• Angela McLean (Montana University System)
• Rebecca Sánchez (University of New Mexico)
• Maridee Shogren (University of North Dakota)
• Kathryn Skulley (Community College of Aurora)
• Judith Sylva (Western Oregon University)

“Supporting aspiring leaders in their development and growth is critically important to our mission at WICHE. The postsecondary institutions in our region that we work with care deeply about preparing future leaders to assume these roles with confidence, thoughtful strategies, and a helpful network,” said Dr. Raymonda Burgman Gallegos, vice president, programs and services, at WICHE, which has facilitated the Academy since 2015.

“WICHE has been helping develop future leaders in higher education across the West for a decade now, and we look forward to helping these rising stars better define their leadership identities and understand how to provide their faculty, staff, and students with educational environments that offer resources and tools necessary for success.”

The Academy is planning a 10th anniversary celebration for later this year. Since its inception, four participants went on to become interim provost, nine went on to become provost, one became president, and two became chancellors.