Jim’s 25 years in higher education working with senior leaders have instilled in him a deep respect for the responsibilities that academic and administrative leaders undertake.

Before entering executive search, Jim led professional development programming for presidents, provosts, and chief business officers at the American Council on Education (ACE). He oversaw multiple programs, bringing together newly appointed leaders as well as preparing individuals for the next steps in their professional journeys. Additionally, Jim tracked patterns that affect institutional strategy and management practices and shared his findings with ACE members across the country.

Previously, Jim was a research consultant at EAB where he worked on the strategic issues facing provosts and related senior leaders. His portfolio included responsibility for uncovering best practices in academic affairs, managing research teams, and presenting findings to clients around the country. Earlier in his career, Jim served as a dean and director at Stanford University and as a researcher at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching where his work was later published in Rethinking Undergraduate Business Education: Liberal Learning for the Profession (2011), winner of the AAC&U’s Frederic W. Ness Book Award in 2013. 

Jim has been an invited speaker on executive search and leadership development at ACE’s Fellows program, the SEC Academic Leadership Development Program, and with the Association for Collaborative Leadership, among others. Today, he continues to contribute to the field by teaching leadership and management in the higher education doctoral program at the George Washington University.

Education

PhD, Higher Education Policy
Stanford University

MA, Sociology
Stanford University

MA, Higher Education
Stanford University

BS, Education
The Pennsylvania State University