LA MIRADA, CALIF. — Biola University is pleased to announce that Jamie Whitaker Campbell, associate professor and interim dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences is one of 45 mid-level administrators in higher education nationwide selected by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) to participate in the 2017– 2018 Senior Leadership Academy.

“It is an honor to be selected and to represent Biola University as a participant in the leadership academy — both as a current administrator but also as an alumna,” said Campbell. “I see this as an opportunity to grow and learn, while embodying the mission of Biola in a national context; and I look forward to continuing to be of service in higher education.”

Individuals chosen for the year long program are administrators in higher education who have been identified by their institutions as having the potential for senior leadership positions in independent colleges or universities. Campbell will participate in two seminars with her cohort in the fall and in the spring. She also will undertake a mentoring program, work with experts, participate in webinars, and engage in a series of readings and case studies during the academic year.

Campbell, an alumna of Biola, earned a J.D. from Georgetown University Law School and was the recipient of the Multi-Ethnic Leadership Development Institute Fellowship in 2011, Azusa Pacific University’s Social Justice & Diversity Fellowship in 2014, and the Provost’s Award for Excellence in University and Community Service in 2015. After serving as the program chair for the humanities major from 2013 to 2015, she now serves as the interim dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The Academy is designed to prepare prospective leaders to assume positions as the chief officers in any division — including academic affairs, student affairs, finance, enrollment management, and advancement in independent higher education.

“The need to prepare future leaders of colleges and universities has never been greater because the generation of people now in senior leadership positions on campus is rapidly approaching retirement,” said CIC President Richard Ekman. “Competition for the available places in the program was intense, and the review committee found the nomination materials to be most impressive. They believe that Jamie Whitaker Campbell has the potential for highly effective leadership in a position of senior responsibility on campus.”

Sixty-one percent of participants in the first Senior Leadership Academy cohort (2010–2011) have advanced in their careers, and 25 percent of participants in the recently completed 2014–2015 cohort already have earned more advanced positions.

Expanding participation in the 2017–2018 Senior Leadership Academy, this year the American Express Foundation gave CIC a grant to support diversifying the leadership of independent colleges.

The Academy is co-sponsored by CIC, the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI), and Academic Search, Inc. Linda M. Bleicken, president of AALI, will direct the program. For more information about the Senior Leadership Academy, visit www.cic.edu/SeniorLeadershipAcademy.

Contact Jenna Loumagne, manager of media relations, at (562) 777-4061 or jenna.loumagne@biola.edu for more information.