Scott Beard Leadership Circle

Leadership Development Circle
Class of 2025: July 28-31
Hosted by UNC Asheville

Beard Leadership Circle

The Beard Leadership Circle is tailored to the unique needs of leaders at public liberal arts colleges. The BLC expands strategic skills, trust, and peer networks to help COPLAC administrators work effectively with their institutional missions, lead their academic units, and support student and faculty success.

Who should participate in BLC 2025?
Current or in-coming deans, associate deans, or associate provosts who want to advance their leadership skills and are committed to participating in the BLC activities.
Why participate in BLC 2025?
The Beard Leadership Circle is an investment in the health of your institution at a time when we all face new challenges, current realities like state funding, enrollment challenges, changing student demographics, and ongoing demands on students, faculty, staff, administrators, and programs. 

COPLAC institutions have a different set of contexts for leadership than any other sector of American higher education. Our size and mission often separate us from larger public institutions, and our public focus, governance structure, and funding models often separate us from similarly sized private institutions. COPLAC campuses face similar needs and challenges in identifying, developing, and recruiting academic leaders who can make a compelling case for the public liberal arts mission.

The BLC addresses these objectives:
  • Reflecting on your leadership journey and identity
  • Gaining deeper exposure to a range of issues, approaches, contexts, challenges, and successes
  • Creating collaborative learning communities
  •  Adapting and adopting practices that advance collaborative action

And the 2025 BLC focuses on these topics and leadership skills for deans, associate deans, or associate provosts.

Administrative Topics Administrative Skills
Academic Reorganization Managing Change
Budgets and Budget Models Effective Delegation
Curriculum: Trends and Data-Driven Decision-Making for Reform Dealing with Messy Issues
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (policies, curriculum) Collaboration
Faculty Workload Administering with Emotional Intelligence
Assessing Organizational Structures Leading Colleagues: Accountability and Boundaries
Engaging and Mentoring Faculty Saying No
How to be nominated for BLC 2025
The Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges invites your campus to participate in the fifth Beard Leadership Circle. The 2025 iteration will work with deans, associate deans, or associate provosts and features virtual events in spring 2025 and culminates with in-person workshops held at UNC Asheville from 28 July to 31 July 2025.

Nomination Process & Applicant Requirements
  • CAOs should discuss the Beard Leadership Circle with interested deans, associate deans, or associate provosts. Nominees should be dreamers and doers, demonstrate a clear interest in leadership, and be totally committed to participating in the BLC activities (see below: What to expect from BLC 2025), including the mandatory in-person session in North Carolina from 29 to 31 July 2025.
  • CAOs may nominate up to three current or prospective mid-level administrators.
  • The COPLAC Office will send a nomination link to COPLAC CAOs in January 2025.
  • Nominations from CAOs must be received by the COPLAC Office before Friday, 21 February 2025. Approximately 40 participants will be accepted for the BLC Class of 2025.
What to expect from BLC 2025
Conducted virtually during Spring 2025 and in-person in July, our format of intensive, problem-based workshops allows teams or individuals from institutions to focus on crucial issues and skills. 

Senior COPLAC administrators will facilitate workshop sessions and mentor attendees, encouraging “communities of practice” to create a network for leadership within a public liberal arts context. 

For the spring 2025 virtual events, participants will share a brief response (300-500 words) to the first of three case studies, give written feedback to a small group of colleagues’ responses, and meet virtually to discuss the issues presented in the first case.

The July 2025 in-person gathering features workshops on second and third case studies; presentations on skills; and discussions. 

After the spring virtual events and July in-person event, the Beard Leadership Circle will continue throughout fall 2025 with optional virtual meetings that can build relationships and foster the sharing of ideas and models. 
Case Study Discussions (June & July 2025)
At the center of the BLC curriculum are small group discussions of three case studies that explore issues relevant to leading – not just managing – an academic unit  at a public liberal arts college. These case studies focus on issues of leading change, as well as working with budget, resources, curriculum, mission, and/or personnel.
Workshop Sessions (July 2025)
The BLC Team has designed discussions, workshops, and sessions that focus on such leadership topics as:
  • Academic Reorganization
  • Budgets and Budget Models
  • Curriculum: Trends and Data-Driven Decision-Making for Reform
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (policies, curriculum)
  • Faculty Workload
  • Assessing Organizational Structures
  • Engaging and Mentoring Faculty

And on such leadership skills as:

  • Managing Change
  • Effective Delegation
  • Dealing with Messy Issues
  • Collaboration
  • Administering with Emotional Intelligence
  • Leading Colleagues: Accountability and Boundaries
  • Saying No
When is BLC 2025?
Timeline for Participants

21 February 5 – dean, associate dean, associate provost nominations from CAOs close
March 2025 – notification of acceptance to the 2025 BLC cohort and acceptance from nominees
11 April 2025 – a 90-minute virtual session to meet the facilitators, cohort peers, and overview of the BLC curriculum
Mid June 2025 – a 60-minute virtual session for mentored, small group discussion of the first case-study
29 - 31 July 2025 – an intensive, in-person, three-day program at UNC Asheville, a COPLAC campus.  Participation at this gathering is mandatory. In-person programming will not be livestreamed or otherwise recorded. 
Where is BLC 2025?
The setting for the three-day July, in-person component of the Beard Leadership Circle is at UNC Asheville in lovely Asheville, North Carolina, located conveniently close to the AVL airport. Campus housing, in UNCA’s residential facilities, will be available to reduce costs and create a sense of community. Either before or after the Beard Leadership Circle, participants can hike our regional and state parks, visit Biltmore, and explore our famous restaurants, art galleries, music venues, and breweries. . 
How much does BLC 2025 cost?
COPLAC has worked hard to keep registration fees and other costs affordable. We know your campus faces tough choices about where it spends money and develops campus leadership. Costs for the 2025 cohort are finalized.

Early Registration Fee (1 February - 15 March 2025) 
$1450 without housing, but including meals for the three-day gathering in late July 2025.
$1850 with on-campus housing and meals for the three-day gathering in late July 2025.

Standard Registration Fee (16 March- 7 April 2025)
$1850 without housing, but including meals for the three-day gathering in late July 2025.
$2250 with on-campus housing and meals for the three-day gathering in late July 2025. 

Registration closes on Monday, 7 April.  

Participants’ travel is not included in the registration fees. However a few Scott Beard Leadership Circle Travel Scholarships are offered to help cover travel costs to the in-person workshops for participants whose institutions are struggling financially. We offer six (6) $600 Travel Scholarships to participants for the 2025 workshop in July at UNCA. CAOs for nominated participants should contact the COPLAC Office to apply for a travel scholarship by 15 March 2025.
Why is it called the Beard Leadership Circle?
COPLAC named the Leadership Circle after Dr. Scott Beard, a provost at Shepherd University.  Before his untimely death in 2021, Scott served COPLAC as an At-Large Member of the Executive Committee, as the Chair of the working group that developed the Online Course Sharing Guidelines and registration form, as a member of the Membership Committee, and as an active member of the Leadership Circle planning group. In all these roles, Scott generously shared his significant intelligence, organizational skills, and administrative acumen. Just as importantly, COPLAC benefited from his humor, his spontaneous singing, his collegiality, and his commitment to our mission to promote affordable, public access to a liberal arts based education. 

This initiative has been renamed the Scott Beard Leadership Circle to honor Scott’s contributing his time in planning, writing case studies, and mentoring deans, associate deans, associate provosts.
Meet the BLC Facilitators and Staff
Karen Moranski (Sonoma State University), Co-Chair
Niti Pandey (Eastern Connecticut State University) Co-Chair
Claire Bailey (COPLAC)
Courtney Bentley (University of Montevallo)
Troi Carlton (Sonoma State University)
Eric Freedman (Truman State University)
Susan Hangen (Ramapo College)
Jeanine Went (COPLAC)
Cole Woodcox (COPLAC)
Past BLC Cohorts
Past BLC Cohorts by YearHere’s the link (read only)
‍Past BLC Cohorts by InstitutionHere’s the link (read only)
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COPLAC institutions have a different set of contexts for leadership than any other sector of American higher education. Our size and mission often separate us from larger public institutions, and our public focus, governance structure, and funding models often separate us from similarly sized private institutions. COPLAC campuses face similar needs and challenges in identifying, developing, and recruiting academic leaders who can make a compelling case for the public liberal arts mission. To promote leadership capacity at our individual institutions and within the public liberal arts sector of higher education, COPLAC will host a three-day professional development workshop in July 2025 for early- to mid-career deans, associate deans, associate provosts, including prospective deans, at COPLAC member institutions. Participants will be able to engage with COPLAC peers to address common challenges, develop professional networks, share resources, and build decision-making strategies.

“This is an extraordinarily difficult time to be a leader in Higher Ed. The opportunity to have these conversations was valuable for me as an individual to have a sense that I am on the right track.”
2021 BLC Participant

Our format of intensive, problem-based workshops allows participants to focus on issues COPLAC administrators have identified as crucial. Senior COPLAC administrators facilitate workshop sessions as well as mentor attendees. The Leadership Circle fosters a leadership network within public liberal arts colleges. The next BLC starts in spring 2025 with virtual meetings to build relationships, discuss a case study, and foster the sharing of ideas and models for decision making, mentoring, and leading.  Participants will meet in person for 3 days in summer 2025, and mentoring will continue into the 2025 - 26 academic year with ongoing virtual meetings for the cohort. 

CAOs will nominate participants in early 2025. 

“I think as a result of the activities at the circle and throughout the year I am much more disciplined in controlling my defensive reflexes and instead of saying “we can’t” to say “yes; how?”
2021 BLC Participant

2025 Frequently asked questions

How do I sign up for this?
Participants must be nominated by their Chief Academic Officer. If you are interested in attending, please contact your CAO.
How do I get to campus from the Asheville airport?
Once your travel is booked, please share your itinerary with bailey@coplac.org - the COPLAC office will facilitate carpooling among attendees. If a carpool doesn’t work, there are taxis, Uber, and Lyft available at AVL.
What does the schedule look like?
The group will meet virtually a couple of times in spring 2025, leading up to the three-day, in-person workshop in July. At the workshop, there will be a mix of plenary and smaller breakout sessions, with one evening providing a chance to explore Asheville. A final schedule will be shared ahead of time! Opportunities for continued virtual conversations will continue throughout the following academic year. See the schedule for 2024’s event here but please note that this year will look a little different: check-in will be Monday afternoon/evening, 7/28; we’ll officially open with breakfast and sessions on 7/29; wrap up with a closing dinner on 7/31; and checkout of residence hall and travel home on 8/1.
How accessible are your campus and facilities?
Distances at UNC Asheville are easily walkable but we are in the mountains, so campus is not flat! We can provide rides from the residence hall to the meeting areas if needed. The residence hall does have an elevator, and ground floor rooms are available upon request.
What is the residence hall like?
On-campus housing will be in one of the Ridges residence halls. Accommodation will be a single room with a private bathroom. Linens/towels/pillows are provided, but other amenities that a hotel might offer are not. Bring your own toiletries, alarm clock, hair dryer, etc. (Campus is also walking distance from a CVS, Trader Joes, etc.) The residence hall does have an elevator, and ground floor rooms are available upon request.
What meals are provided?
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and breaks on Tuesday; breakfast, lunch, and breaks on Wednesday; and breakfast, lunch, dinner, and breaks on Thursday. Dinner is on your own Monday while everyone is traveling and settling in. Wednesday will have facilitated (optional) dinner circles. Friday breakfast is on your own while traveling.
Do I need to prepare for the Beard Leadership Circle?
Participants will be asked to respond to several Case Studies and read others' responses before discussing during the spring and summer gatherings. Short readings selected by the facilitators will be recommended in advance of the July event.
Where can I park on campus?
If you are driving yourself, we will provide you with a parking pass at check-in. Parking is available in a deck P4 on the campus map right next to the residence hall (R10).
What if I need to cancel?
We do accept cancellations and can issue partial refunds up to 7 days (7/21/25) in advance of the event. If your institution nominated more than one person, you can also transfer your registration to the next nominee from your campus without any additional fee.
Will I have time to explore Asheville?
Yes! Wednesday night will be dinner on-your-own downtown where there is a wide variety of restaurants, pubs, coffee shops, and specialty dessert locations. If you would like to extend your visit to Asheville - and we highly recommend it! - we are not able to offer additional nights in the residence hall but there are numerous hotels, Airbnbs/Vrbos, and traditional B&B options.
Which nights have lodging provided?
Your stay in the residence hall will be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. If you would like to extend your stay in Asheville on either end of the program, you will need to find other accommodation. 
What should I pack?
Dress for the Leadership Circle is casual, so no need to overpack. Check the weather forecast: nights in the mountains can be cool. Lodging is in a residence hall and linens/towels/pillows are provided, but other amenities that a hotel might offer are not. Bring your own toiletries, alarm clock, hair dryer, etc. (Campus is also walking distance from a CVS, Trader Joes, etc.)