Client Testimonials

Susan Pierce is a “go to” person for Carroll College. The Board of Trustees retained her shortly after I was appointed president in 2012 to advise it and me about the transition, about governance, about effective board performance and how to move forward on strategic planning. In doing so, Susan facilitated two board of trustee retreats, a retreat for members of my Cabinet and a faculty retreat which were important parts of the College being able to come together effectively and very quickly on a new strategic plan. She has clearly earned the respect of all campus constituencies.

Subsequently, Susan has advised me, members of my staff and some trustees about an array of matters. She has been very helpful to our building a successful advancement operation, has given us good guidance about some complicated aspects of our handbook and perhaps most importantly been available to talk with me confidentially about how to address the inevitable problems and even crises that seem to be part of the normal life of a college president.

Those conversations have been extremely helpful to me since Susan brings to them her wealth of experience both as a president and an expert on the presidency.

On a more personal note, Susan has become a trusted friend. We remain in contact beyond matters pertaining to the college. She is someone I know I can count on to give honest and caring advice taking into consideration personal as well as institutional circumstances.

There are few people I know who are as responsive “around the clock” as Susan. Simply put, she is “there for you” when you need her.

Susan Resneck Pierce has come to be known in liberal arts college circles as the quintessential expert on where this particular facet of the higher education landscape now finds itself. Dr. Pierce won for herself a well-deserved reputation as a distinguished academic leader well before she was named President of Puget Sound, a post she held for years with acclaim on campus and off.

She is highly knowledgeable, extremely well connected in the United States at the highest levels of education, an adroit writer and speaker, and an invaluable resource for presidents and boards which find themselves, especially in these troubling times, confronted with often intractable dilemmas on all sides.

Her most recent books are among the best guides published within the last forty years. I have recommended them to scores of individuals over the course of the months of my interim stewardship of the presidency at Sweet Briar College. Her guidance, sage counsel, and integrity have benefitted all of us in incalculable ways.

Susan Resneck Pierce first worked with Ohio Wesleyan when she facilitated the very successful presidential search that brought Rock Jones to the campus in July of 2008.

Throughout that process, Susan served as more than a search consultant. She helped the campus and the board understand the landscape of higher education and, even more importantly, helped us first to identify our institutional challenges, opportunities and priorities and then to define the qualities and the experience we wanted our next president to have. Thanks to Susan’s guidance, we got it right.

Because Susan had clearly earned the respect of all campus constituencies, at the conclusion of the search, in my role as chair of the board, I retained her to advise the board and President-Elect Jones about the transition and also to work with the faculty, the administration and the trustees to come to a shared understanding of the best practices of shared governance.

In recent years, I think it fair to say that we at Ohio Wesleyan have continued to benefit from Susan’s vast experience expressed in her many essays and two recent books. We have also appreciated her availability to us to discuss on an ad hoc basis matters both large and small.

In short, it gives me great pleasure to offer an unqualified recommendation of Susan Pierce’s work as a consultant in the arena of higher education. You will enjoy working with her.

Working with Susan Resneck Pierce is an enriching experience professionally and personally. She engages fully with all constituencies, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience as well as genuine interest in the institutions with which she works and the people who serve those institutions. Personally, she has been a source of invaluable counsel to me on a variety of issues during my tenure here.

I first worked closely with Susan when in 2007 I was a candidate in the Ohio Wesleyan presidential search for which she served as the consultant. Since then, Susan has done additional projects for Ohio Wesleyan. In addition to being available to me as an advisor, Susan has successfully facilitated an important board retreat and worked with the board, the administration and the faculty on shared governance. A few years ago, we participated in a panel for the CIC President’s Institute, which Susan put together and moderated.

In all these roles, Susan has been an active and perceptive listener who inspires the respect of and collaboration among those with whom she works (even when they have opposing views). An experienced president, she truly understands the demands of the presidency and the relationship of the president to the board, the faculty, the staff, the students and the alumni. She also has a keen and informed understanding of the daunting challenges now facing our colleges and universities.

From those understandings, she provides guidance that is sound and creative.

“Doctor Pierce is the real deal.  She has a warm yet straightforward and professional manner that endears her to boards and management alike.   Her common sense approach often results in an epiphany followed by a lament of “why didn’t we think of that” reaction.  Because of her skill at both style and substance on governance and strategic planning issues, she makes the process seem easy and difficult transitions appear seamless.  This is what happens when you get a truly good person who is incredibly smart and has deep experience in all facets of higher education.  Susan Pierce is the Greek goddess of higher education consulting.”