We’ve been there, and we can help.
Confidential advisors to university and college presidents and board leaders.
The partners of Wrighton and Cannon Consulting LLC have a deep and hard-earned appreciation for the staggering complexities confronting presidents and board leaders in higher education today. We know– from extensive first-hand experience– that university and college leaders are called upon to address immediately and confidently a daunting array of challenges simultaneously, including:
Increasing access and affordability of higher education in a society that features widening income and wealth gaps
Addressing challenges to institutional autonomy and academic freedom arising from both government actors and culture war partisans
Increasing enrollment and employment of underrepresented minorities in a legal environment that’s become increasingly adverse to such efforts, and in a financial environment that is increasingly stressed
Persuasively conveying the tangible and intangible “value propositions” of higher education to an increasingly distrustful and skeptical society
Providing the vision and managerial sagacity to develop critically important resources to support major new academic initiatives and the physical facilities needed to sustain them
Building confidence of the many constituencies, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and local leaders
Truly honoring the institution’s traditions and policies of faculty governance, while at the same time providing the most nimble and effective governance and management of complex institutions
Balancing the sometimes conflicting demands of the multiple missions universities often serve of educating the young, advancing knowledge through research and scholarship, serving their communities and providing the most advanced patient care available
We’ve been there, and we can help.
Our confidential, objective and experience-informed advice can help new and established presidents and board leaders alike thrive in the face of these and many other challenges. The two partners of Wrighton Cannon Consulting have between them well over 50 years of experience in the roles of University President, Provost and Executive Vice President.
We are “active listeners” who deeply value– and have experienced– the great variation in mission and culture found among the nation’s universities and colleges, and we know well that there is no “one size fits all” approach when it comes to assisting new or experienced presidents and board chairs find their paths to success. You and we together design the consulting experience that will make the most sense for you in your unique institutional setting.