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CIC PRESIDENTS PRESENT
TOP 2005 ANNUAL AWARDS

MARCO ISLAND, FL— The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) today announced the two award recipients of its top 2005 annual awards. Thomas A. Emmet, president of Higher Education Executive Associates, was selected to receive the Allen P. Splete Award for Outstanding Service, while The UPS Foundation earned CIC’s Award for Philanthropy. The awards were presented at CIC’s Awards Banquet during the annual Presidents Institute, held at the Marco Island Marriott, Marco Island, FL, on Thursday, January 6.

The Allen P. Splete Award for Outstanding Service is given to an individual, publication, or organization for significant contributions to independent higher education. The award recognizes national leadership, through ideas and commitment, on behalf of private colleges and universities. The award was named in honor of the retired president of CIC, who served from 1985 to 2000.

Thomas A. Emmet and his associates have helped colleges and universities strengthen strategic planning, personnel policies, and financial analysis. Emmet has been a consultant to more than 1,850 colleges and universities of all types since 1954. In announcing the award, CIC President Richard Ekman said that Emmet “deserves to be called the ‘dean of consultants,’ having worked with hundreds of institutions, mainly small and mid-sized private colleges and universities. He has worked with CIC institutions as a seminar leader, collegial adviser, pro bono tutor, and mentor.” Ekman also noted that Emmet has consulted with more than 300 boards of trustees and was the first consultant for the Association of Governing Boards, setting up its seminar programs for trustees.

Emmet began consulting in the area of student services and dealt with diversity and student development. He founded Higher Education Executive Associates in 1967.

Its services have expanded to include seminars on the legal ownership of Catholic colleges, leadership development of department chairs and deans, and collective bargaining.

Emmet was a presenter in the American Council on Education (ACE) Fellows Program for 25 years, and he was senior advisor on leadership programs for ACE in the 1980s and early 1990s. He also instituted the ACE Seminars on Faculty Handbooks and Policy Manuals, which then led to the creation of the Policy Manual Division of Higher Education Executive Associates and Higher Education Solutions.

While serving Higher Education Executive Associates, he simultaneously has assisted Regis University and remains a senior consultant to its president. At Regis, Emmet helped to develop the Regis Adult Learning and Professional Studies Programs.

Emmet holds honorary doctoral degrees from St. Norbert College, Quincy University, and Siena Heights University. He has made numerous presentations at CIC’s Presidents Institute, Institute for Chief Academic Officers, and Department and Division Chair Workshops. He was instrumental in developing the latter workshops, and serves on the Department and Division Chair Advisory Task Force.

The Award for Philanthropy, presented to The UPS Foundation, celebrates a foundation or corporation that has demonstrated leadership and vision in improving higher education. The UPS Foundation is the charitable arm of the United Parcel Service, founded in 1907 as a messenger company and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Every day, United Parcel Service manages goods, funds, and information in transit in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

The UPS Foundation is committed to making a lasting difference through hands-on, community-based service, whether for hurricane victims, health and human care services, women’s businesses, or other worthwhile causes. For UPS, social responsibility involves more than writing a check. Nonetheless, during 2003 the UPS Foundation contributed $39.8 million in United Way corporate contributions and gift-matching programs, as well as considerable charitable contributions and grants.

“The UPS Foundation earns the CIC Award for Philanthropy in 2005,” Ekman said, “for its ongoing commitment to the private sector of higher education. The Foundation is also honored for its support of the Foundation for Independent Higher Education (FIHE)/UPS National Venture Fund. CIC acknowledges the UPS Foundation for more than 50 years of generous philanthropy, effectively fulfilling its promises to the communities it serves.”

The Foundation’s original gift to FIHE of $4 million has now grown to an endowment of more than $43 million. During the past three decades, FIHE has distributed

$37 million through state funds to 655 affiliated institutions. Most of this money has been used for scholarships. UPS Scholars will be named at most CIC institutions this year.

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The Council of Independent Colleges is an association of more than 540 independent, liberal arts colleges and universities and higher education affiliates and organizations that work together to strengthen college and university leadership, sustain high-quality education, and enhance private higher education’s contributions to society. To fulfill this mission, CIC provides its members with skills, tools, and knowledge that address aspects of leadership, financial management and performance, academic quality, and institutional visibility. The Council is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.

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