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
Pamela M. Balch
Senior Consultant
Pam.Balch@academicsearch.org
When Dr. Pamela Balch joined Academic Search in 2017, she quickly proved to be an eager senior consultant with a sharp eye for recognizing executive talent. She has more than 30 years of experience in higher education, including 13 years as president of two institutions, and has been honored many times for her impressive work. In addition, Dr. Balch’s breadth of wisdom in the behind-the-scenes administrative side of university governance allows her to intimately understand an institution’s needs.
Dr. Balch’s career has taken her across the nation in various administrative positions. She was president of Mayville University in Mayville, ND, for three years before serving as president of West Virginia Wesleyan University for more than a decade. The Uniontown, PA, native received her bachelor’s degree in education from West Virginia Wesleyan, which was only the start of her relationship with the Buckhannon private college. She then began teaching fifth and sixth graders in the West Virginia public school system while earning a master’s and a doctoral degree in education from the University of West Virginia. Dr. Balch returned to West Virginia Wesleyan to join its education staff and would spend the next decade there, working her way up to director of graduate programs. Dr. Balch also holds two post-graduate certificates from Harvard University.
After leaving WVWC, Dr. Balch made a cross-country leap to California to serve as San Diego State University’s associate dean for academic affairs. For the next eight years in the Golden State, Dr. Balch became instrumental in the public university realm and earned the coveted honors of ACE Fellow, Teacher Educator of the Year, Imperial County Woman of the Year, and California State University Executive Fellow. As a CSU Fellow, she spent a year in the CSU Chancellor’s office in Long Beach and another year as vice provost for academic planning at Chico State. Dr. Balch then returned to the Mountain State to join Bethany College, a small private liberal arts school, as vice president for academic affairs.
In these executive positions, Dr. Balch honed her skills as an excellent communicator and developed a remarkable ability to recognize emerging issues and the ways to correct them. In addition, as a president of both public and private institutions, Dr. Balch gained a unique understanding of the skills schools are searching for in new hires and the trials that an executive staff may face.
Throughout her career, Dr. Balch has dedicated herself to improving the quality of education students receive. As a senior consultant with Academic Search, she is continuing her mission. She is a careful planner and a diligent strategist, and she is an excellent guide for both the institution and the candidates throughout the search process. Dr. Balch serves each institution with guidance and support, and works diligently with all candidates to help them professionally throughout the search process and beyond.
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
