Academic leadership under pressure: Insights from the IHE 2025 CAO Survey

What To Expect

Want to know what’s really on the minds of academic leaders? Join this expert-led panel discussion as higher ed leaders unpack what it means to lead in academic affairs in 2025. The discussion will draw on the findings of the 2025 Survey of College and University Chief Academic Officers, a Watermark-sponsored report by Inside Higher Ed and Hanover Research, consisting of data collected from 478 provosts.

This is your chance to get an unparalleled look into the strategies, challenges, and priorities shaping the ability to deliver a quality education.

Here’s some of the topics the panelists will cover:

• The Provost’s paradox: The surprising disconnect between job satisfaction and the resources needed to succeed.
• The funding fallout: How federal policy shifts are impacting institutional budgets and academic freedom.
• The AI imperative: What academic leaders are doing to adapt curricula and policies for the age of artificial intelligence.
• The well-being crisis: The steps being taken to support student and staff mental health, and the results they’re seeing.
• The talent drain: The top reasons for faculty and staff turnover, and how institutions are fighting to retain their best people.

Panelists:

• Lynn Pasquerella, President, American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)
• Michael H. Gavin, President, Delta College
• Trey Conatser, Assistant Provost for Teaching & Learning, Director of the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, University of Kentucky

Moderator: Colleen Flaherty, Editor of Special Content, Inside Higher Ed