Summer Institute

ACL Summer Institute

July 20-23, 2025 | Claremont, CA

ACL invites you to join us for our eleventh Summer Leadership Institute.  The ACL Summer Institute consistently receives high marks from participants – which have included college presidents working to start a consortium, new executive directors, senior consortial staff and faculty leading collaborative projects. The ACL Summer Institute’s three-day curriculum is taught in an interactive workshop format with class sizes ranging from 12- 20 participants, and experienced consortium leaders serving as faculty. 
 

Curriculum

Over the course of three days, you will learn what makes collaboration work; what derails it; and how to engage in consortial work through a curriculum that ensures participants understand a body of knowledge leading to effective collaboration and have tools to help facilitate their work. 

The curriculum covers:

• An overview of consortial leadership, highlighting a range of organizational structures across consortia

• Collaboration, leadership, governance and vision

• Strategic planning, action plans and assessment to bring mission and goals into reality

• Communicating within and about the consortium - strategies and tactics for sharing your good work

• Financial strategies and techniques

Capstone Project

Participants will work on a capstone project through the entire institute, and leave the institute with clear action plans and a way forward to implement their project upon returning to their organization. 

ACL Institute faculty are leaders in higher education collaboration who have expertise in their subject area and deep experience in consortial work.

Stig Lanesskog, CEO, The Claremont Colleges Services; President, ACL

Claire Ramsbottom, Executive Director, Colleges of the Fenway; Past President, ACL and Founding Faculty Member

Keith Marshall, Executive Director, Big Ten Academic Alliance; Board Member, ACL

Sarah Pfatteicher, Executive Director, Five Colleges, Incorporated; Vice President, ACL

Schedule Overview
View the draft schedule here.

Scholarship
Up to three scholarships are available to expand and strengthen access to professional development opportunities for leaders from emerging, racially, and economically diverse consortia. Scholarships will be offered to support up to $1,350 of the tuition cost of the 2025 ACL Summer Institute.  The funds will be used to support participants from consortia or collaborations less than two years old, to support new directors of existing consortia or collaborations with operating budgets of $250,000 or less, and to support consortia/collaborations that serve or include minority-serving institutions.  Each consortium or collaborative enterprise is limited to applying for one scholarship. If you wish to apply for a scholarship, please complete the scholarship form. All scholarship applications are due April 7, 2025.

Fees

Institute fee covers all meals and lodging for three nights.

ACL member: before May 1 - $2,350 | after May 1 - $2,500
Non member: $2,900

Commuters: Registration fee doesn't include hotel. Please use promo code "Commuter" at check out for a $450 discount.

ACL member commuter: before May 1 - $1,900 | after May 1 - $2,050
Non members commuter: $2,450

Refund and Cancellation Policy

• Cancellation requests must be sent by email to admin@national-acl.org.

• Refunds of the full registration amount will be provided for cancellations received on or before June 20, 2025. Please allow 10–15 business days after acknowledgment of your request for your refund to be processed.

• ACL cannot provide any refund for cancellations received after June 20, 2025.

• You may transfer your registration to a colleague from the same institution anytime. To do so, the original registrant should submit a request via email to admin@national-acl.org.