Tony Floyd elected for national program for prospective college and university presidents

HARTSVILLE, SC – Coker College is pleased to announce that Executive Vice President Tony Floyd is one of 20 senior college administrators selected by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) to participate in a year-long Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission program for prospective college and university presidents.

The seminar-based program is designed to help individuals with the potential to serve as college and university presidents to clarify the alignment between their personal and professional goals and the missions of institutions that they might lead in the future. With a wave of retirements of university presidents on the horizon, it is especially important that individuals who become new presidents are well suited to the culture of the institution. The program aims to produce presidencies that are long lasting, highly effective and satisfying to both the individual and the institution.

Participants, including Floyd, will engage in two seminars, participate in consultations with experienced mentors, and undertake a series of readings about the vocation of college presidents and the role of vision and mission in institutional leadership.

“The alignment of personal vocation and institutional mission emphasized in this program addresses a common pitfall of presidencies,” said CIC President Richard Ekman. “The program aims to help participants achieve great things for their institutions and to avoid being ‘the right person in the wrong place.’”

Floyd became the vice president for administration and legal counsel at Coker College in September 2012, and was promoted to executive vice president in 2015. In addition to his responsibilities as executive vice president, he has served as an adjunct professor at Coker, teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses on sports law, business law and the First Amendment. He was an ACE (American Council on Education) Fellow for the 2014-15 academic year, the first ACE Fellow in Coker College history.

Before coming to Coker, Floyd practiced law for nearly 25 years, including 19 years at his firm Floyd & Gardner. He has also served on several local and state foundations and boards, including the Hartsville City Council (1995-99), the Byerly Foundation Board of Directors (2007-12) and the University of South Carolina Board of Visitors (2010-13). Floyd earned a juris doctor from Campbell University’s School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina.

“I am thrilled, but not surprised, that Tony has received this very deserved honor,” said Coker College President Robert Wyatt. “All of us at Coker have benefited greatly from his unique mix of talent, expertise and dedication, and I’m looking forward to seeing how this new experience will challenge him to continue strengthening his leadership abilities.”

This approach to the preparation of new presidents has proven itself highly successful in the short period that the program has been operating. Since 2005, 38 program participants (32 percent) have been named to college presidencies—a very high rate of advancement among leadership development programs.

The program is directed by Frederik Ohles, Nebraska Wesleyan University president and CIC senior advisor. For more information about the Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission program, which is generously funded by the Lilly Endowment, visit www.cic.edu/VocationMission.

Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission Participants, 2016-17

• Susan Agre-Kippenhan, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, Linfield College
• Irma Becerra, Provost, St. Thomas University (FL)
• John A. Chopka, Vice President for Enrollment Management, Messiah College (PA)
• Bethami Dobkin, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Saint Mary’s College of California
• Susan M. Donovan, Executive Vice President, Loyola University Maryland
• Harry Dumay, Senior Vice President for Finance, Saint Anselm College (NH)
• Travis Feezell, Provost, University of the Ozarks (AR)
• Tony Floyd, Executive Vice President, Coker College (SC)
• Moses Goldmon, Executive Vice President and Chaplain, Lane College (TN)
• Curt Guaglianone, Vice President for Strategic Planning and Program Development, Heritage University (WA)
• Matt Hill, Vice President for Student Life and Athletics, University of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN)
• Jay Howard, Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Butler University (IN)
• Joshua Jacobs, Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Relations, Central Methodist University
• Michael Latham, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, Grinnell College (IA)
• Adam Morris, Vice President for Advancement, Biola University (CA)
• Timothy Phillips, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students, St. Ambrose University (IA)
• R. Scott Sheffield, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, Brevard College (NC)
• Charles Lee Stinemetz, Provost, Ohio Wesleyan University
• Linda Strong-Leek, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, Berea College (KY)
• Michaele Whelan, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Emerson College (MA)

About the Council of Independent Colleges

The Council of Independent Colleges is an association of 765 nonprofit independent colleges and universities and higher education affiliates and organizations that has worked since 1956 to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of private higher education’s contributions to society. CIC is the major national organization that focuses on providing services to leaders of independent colleges and universities as well as conferences, seminars, and other programs that help institutions to improve educational quality, administrative and financial performance, and institutional visibility. CIC conducts the largest annual conferences of college and university presidents and of chief academic officers. CIC also provides support to state fundraising associations that organize programs and generate contributions for private colleges and universities. The Council is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.cic.edu.