As the first organization dedicated to higher education executive search, our service model has always focused on outstanding executive recruitment for colleges and universities. We have years of experience in the sector and understand the unique needs higher education institutions have when hiring.
We’ve proudly concluded more than 2,600 successful searches for Presidents/Chancellors, Provosts, Vice Presidents, and Deans in a variety of disciplines.
Administrative Areas:
Academic Affairs | Admissions & Enrollment | Advancement | Business & Finance | General Counsel | Human Resources | Information Technology | Marketing & Communications | Operations | Student Affairs | Student Success | And Many Others
Academic Disciplines:
Architecture | Arts & Humanities | Business & Economics | Education | Healthcare/Nursing | Hospitality | Libraries | STEM | And Many Others
We’re With You Every Step of the Way
Academic Search serves as your partner in a collaborative search effort. Our senior consultants interact extensively with your search committee to assist with organizing and managing the search process, and informing the crucial decisions of the search committees and hiring authorities.
We use a four-step process to frame our higher education executive search process: organize the search; lead recruitment; evaluate, select, and interview semifinalists; and close the search.
Organize
Academic Search works side-by-side with our partner institutions to analyze your needs, set specific goals, and develop operating guidelines. During this preliminary phase, we meet with appropriate departments such as human resources to ensure that the search process conforms to the regulations, requirements, and culture of our partner institution or organization.
Recruit
A key step in the search process is building a strong candidate pool with the unique qualifications of the open position. By getting to know your institution well, we guarantee we are finding candidates who fit with the mission and culture of the role. We cast a wide net to find the very best candidates, locally, nationally, and globally, and tap into our extensive networks to identify a broad group of candidates.
Through our connection to leadership development programs through our parent organization, the American Academic Leadership Institute, and many of our consultants actively participating in conferences and programs across the country, we are able to tap into an even larger range of candidates who are ready for their next role.
Evaluate, Select, and Interview
We partner with your search committee in designing and implementing a selection process tailored to your needs and campus culture. Our process involves working with you to develop an objective review method for evaluating candidates. Our senior consultants are actively involved in recruitment and evaluation and openly share insights into conversations with candidates and others throughout the interview process.
Close the Search
Our senior consultants work with you to not only select the finalists but also perform background checks and reference calls. We ensure consistent communication with all finalists throughout the process.
Once the campus interviews are completed, we ensure the search is brought to a successful conclusion. Our consultants can help develop recommendations to the hiring authority to facilitate a smooth transition for the newly hired candidate which might include communications strategies and a transition plan.
Beyond the Search
Leadership transitions can be both energizing and stressful times for institutional communities. We strive to guide you and your institution through these changes throughout the leadership lifecycle by providing transition and onboarding support as well as executive coaching.
Why Academic Search
As the first executive search firm dedicated to higher education, we bring a deep understanding of the evolving challenges and opportunities within the higher education landscape. Our team is composed of higher education leaders who bring a wealth of knowledge and expansive networks. Through this experience, we are uniquely positioned to understand, appreciate, and address the specific needs of each institution we partner with.
High Retention Rates
The very high percentages of appointees from our searches who remain in office five years later is strong evidence of our careful attention to institutional/appointee fit.
Meet Our Senior Consultants
Margaret H. Venable
Senior Consultant
Margaret.Venable@academicsearch.org
Dr. Margaret H. Venable’s passion for higher education is as infectious as it is inspiring. As a dedicated chemistry professor with a love of connecting with students, a happenstance job opening allowed Dr. Venable to move into an administrative role. Fellow administrators quickly recognized her innate executive talent, and by the end of her higher education career, she was President of one of Georgia’s premier colleges. As a Senior Consultant with Academic Search, Dr. Venable can continue to share her expert guidance and advice with the next generation of executive higher education leaders.
In 2015, Dr. Venable was named President of Dalton State College, a University of Georgia System public institution, and was the first woman to hold the title. Located in northwest Georgia, Dalton State became the state’s first Hispanic Serving Institution while under Dr. Venable’s leadership. This designation signifies that at least 25 percent of students who attend Dalton State identify as Hispanic, and today that number is now more than one-third of the institution’s total enrollment. Dr. Venable retired from the helm in May 2023.
Dalton State’s diverse student body, composed of many first-generation college students, motivated Dr. Venable to constantly improve the institution’s academic offerings and affordability to ensure that aspiring graduates are on paths that will result in promising careers. She is wholeheartedly devoted to helping all students receive a quality education, and as a senior consultant, she has a sharp eye for potential hires who will help institutions continue to open doors for eager students.
Almost all of Dr. Venable’s higher education experience has been with the University System of Georgia. Her tenure has seen her enjoy booming enrollments and robust budgets and weather financial woes, dwindling enrollment, and a pandemic. That experience provides her with in-depth knowledge of the challenges institutions may face, and it gives her a unique perspective on the candidates an administration might consider for certain positions. Additionally, as Vice President of Gainesville State College, Dr. Venable guided her faculty and staff through the consolidation with another institution to become the University of North Georgia, and she serves as a mentor for others experiencing this transition.
In addition to the presidential and vice presidential roles, Dr. Venable was Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Gordon State College, and she held several positions at Georgia Perimeter College. Ten years after being hired to teach chemistry at the Atlanta institution, Dr. Venable’s peers nominated her to chair the science and physical education department in 2002, igniting her administrative career. She is incredibly proud of her time in the Early College and Academic Initiatives program that provided high school and college credits for high school dropouts, as it exemplifies her passion for helping all people benefit from higher education.
We look forward to partnering with you. Contact us for a complimentary search consultation or request for proposal.
1250 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC 20036-2657
Phone: 202-332-4049
Fax: 202-234- 7640
