AUPHA membership is abuzz with the news that Lydia will be leaving AUPHA to move on to other opportunities, as well as thoughts about our next steps as an organization. The announcement gives me pause, as I reflect on how far we have come as an organization in the nine years since Lydia became our President and CEO and how much I look forward to AUPHA continuing its trajectory of growth and inclusiveness. I am reminded of the critical ways that AUPHA connects faculty with vastly diverse academic training and experience, and how AUPHA has found ways to represent the common interests of many different types of academic programs. Mostly, I am reminded of the collective energy that is palpable when we come together at Annual Meeting, at the Leaders Conference and at the Undergraduate Workshop.
The Board is proud of the strong position of AUPHA as an association, and we are grateful for Lydia and her staff’s constant work on our behalf. The organization is solid financially and in terms of member satisfaction. Attendance at our Annual Meeting grows each year, as does the degree of positive feedback on the meeting. We have launched technological initiatives –the Network, the benchmarking platform and HAMPCAS-- that benefit our member programs.
As the Board turns to the search for a leader for this next stage of AUPHA’s organizational life, we will be guided by the commitment to serve our members: helping faculty to do their jobs easier and better, and improving member programs.
The search for a successor to Lydia involves decisions that are both strategic (what do we want and need in our next chief executive?) and tactical (how will we find that individual? How do we assure a diverse and qualified pool of applicants?). All members of the Board will be heavily involved in these decisions. We will also reach out to AUPHA members and past Board members for help. Board members are in the midst of holding telephone focus groups with program directors to gather information about program directors’ experience with AUPHA and suggestions for how we can better serve programs and their faculty. We are also using these venues to seek input about the requirements of AUPHA’s next president. Our March Board meeting, scheduled to be held in Chicago during the Leader’s Conference, will largely be devoted to guiding the search. I have had phone calls with several members about AUPHA’s search for a successor. I encourage you to share your views and questions with me and other Board members—either in person in Chicago on March 12 or via email or phone.
This is an exciting time for AUPHA! Thanks for your continued support. I hope to see you in Chicago in March or in Monterey in June.