President's Essays and Selected Writings

Most of my published writing clusters around topics that relate to liberal education and values, and leadership and strategic decision-making in higher education. Most of the time, I have often found myself trying to build bridges between concepts and practices. I have written extensively on values education and moral development, always with an eye on issues related to teaching and learning. The theme of values has continued to intrigue me as my writing has focused on what I call "strategic leadership," or the use of the strategy process as a method of leadership in colleges and universities.

The theme of student learning provides a continuous thread in the argument of my 2007 publication, Strategic Leadership: Integrating Strategy and Leadership in Colleges and Universities (ACE/Rowman and Littlefield, 2007; with the permission of the publisher), as seen in the following excerpts:

• pp. 65-68
• pp. 198-204
• pp. 226-233
• pp. 255-256

My essay, "From Inquiry to Action," comes from reflections developed in our recent work on strategy at the Teagle Foundation.

Exploring in greater depth several of the themes that are found in "From Inquiry to Action" is my chapter entitled "Leadership, Liberal Education and Values," which appeared in Leadership and the Liberal Arts: Achieving the Promise of a Liberal Education (edited by Wren, Riggio and Genovese; Palgrave Macmillan, 2009; used with the permission of the author).

In summer/fall 2011, I spoke at two meetings for consortia about the changing nature of higher education - and the need for collaboration - in the 21st century.

The first was at the annual meeting for the Associated Colleges of the South (ACS), which took place on June 9, 2011. My remarks on collaboration in the new era of higher education can be found here.

The second was the Governor's Conference on Trusteeship, which took place on September 23, 2011 in Lexington, Kentucky. Those remarks on the role of trustees in assuring the quality of learning can be found here.

In fall 2010, I spoke at two meetings organized by the Council of Independent Colleges.

The first was CIC's annual Conversation between Foundation Officers and College and University Presidents, which took place on October 12, 2010 in New York City. My remarks on fundraising from the perspective of a college president and a foundation executive can be found here.

The second was CIC's Chief Academic Officers and Chief Financial Officers Institute, this year held on November 9, 2010 in Williamsburg, Virginia. Those remarks on the topic of "integral leadership" can be found here.

Richard L. Morrill