Paul A. Elsner Excellence in Leadership Award Honorees

LANE GLENN

President,
Northern Essex Community College

ANITA RIOS

System Director, Talent
and Organizational Effectiveness,
Minnesota State Colleges and
Universities System Office

About Lane Glenn

Dr. Lane  A. Glenn is president of Northern Essex Community College (NECC), with campuses in Haverhill and Lawrence, Massachusetts. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Glenn served as vice president of academic affairs at NECC.

Dr. Glenn is focused on student success and is passionate about finding ways to help students achieve their educational goals, especially students who are underprepared for college.

At Northern Essex, he has provided leadership for the college’s involvement in Achieving the Dream, a national effort to help more community college students succeed, with a special focus on students of color and low-income students.  Over the past six years, the college has made significant policy changes and adopted many new initiatives, including enhanced academic advising, new tutoring
resources, a college success skills course, and more.  As a result, course completion, retention, and graduation rates have all climbed each year, and are now the highest in the history of the college.

In addition, he has expanded the college’s relationships with local high schools and partnered with local employers to develop programs that deliver the skills most needed in the job market.

Examples of successes under his leadership include the college’s new associate
of science degree in lab science which was developed in partnership with ten local life science companies, and an innovative Early College Program at Amesbury High School which has been called a national model.  He also spearheaded NECC Riverwalk, which opened in Lawrence in the fall of 2010, bringing together credit programs, adult literacy programs, and noncredit personal enrichment and career programs in one location for the first time, and iHealth@NECC, a new health care opportunity at the college.

Before he joined the Northern Essex staff he served as dean of academic and student services at Oakland Community College in Auburn Hills, Michigan; and on the faculty at Lansing Community College in Lansing, Michigan. He has a diverse background in education and the performing arts that includes nearly 20 years of teaching and administration, alongside work as an actor and director for the stage, television, and films.

As a researcher, author, and consultant for higher education professionals, businesses, and the social sectors, he has produced articles and workshops on topics ranging from behavioral styles and team building, to conflict management, Appreciative Inquiry, strategic planning, change management, leadership through storytelling, academic master planning, student development at commuter colleges, and learning styles in the classroom and in the workplace. 

He is 2000 graduate of the Chair Academy, and has served for twelve years as an Academy facilitator, and on the International Advisory Board.

A born optimist and former president of his local chapter of Optimists International, Dr. Glenn seeks solutions to student success and organizational development challenges through a “strengths-based and evidence-guided” approach to visioning, planning, and communications.

Dr. Glenn earned a Ph.D. from Michigan State University, a Master of Arts from Oklahoma State University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Northeastern State University.

About Anita Rios

Anita Rios serves as the System Director of Talent Management and Organizational Effectiveness for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU).  Anita guides and supports systemwide efforts to attract, retain, and develop employees in MnSCU’s 24  community and technical colleges and 7 state universities.  She oversees systemwide leadership development and training efforts for the 18,000 faculty and staff employed throughout the system of state colleges and universities. 

Anita has worked collaboratively with senior leaders and the talent management team to influence the culture in MnSCU with a strong focus of growing their own leaders and strengthening the leadership pipeline. She has designed and delivered leadership development programs that produce results, with an eye to building programs that meet the needs of leaders when they experience critical transitions of moving from one role to another. These programs include supervisory training, mid-level leadership development, administrator development, and executive development. She has also worked to support and guide systemwide efforts on talent acquisition, onboarding, performance management, and succession planning.

Anita's recent succession planning efforts have garnered a high return on investment for the entire system of state universities and colleges, as it works to not only attract exceptional talent from outside MnSCU, but to establish a notable talent pool from within.  Succession planning efforts have resulted in a 45% success rate for participants in the executive leader development program obtaining executive-level positions.  The Luoma Leadership Academy, featured in the Chair Academy Leadership Journal, Winter 2013, has served over 370 mid-level management and faculty participants since its inception.  On average, 33% of participants in the Academy have either received promotions or interim leadership opportunities after participating in the year-long program.  Retention of participants within the system has remained high at 93% post program.

Prior to joining MnSCU in 2005, Anita was employed at the University of Minnesota as an internal Organization Development Consultant.  She worked collaboratively with departments and colleges to address gender equity issues and help improve the work environment for women.  She created a national initiative to advance women in higher education, through involving women and men in higher education in a series of conversations to develop strategies to help build an agenda for change. The initiative was launched during a National Teleconference in March 2000 that included over 5,000 participants in 4 regional conference locations in Minnesota, California, Virginia, and Texas and 250 college and university teleconference sites. It was the first effort of its kind to involve a broad range of educational associations as sponsors and planning partners, such as the American Council on Education, American Association of Community Colleges, American Association of University Professors, Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), Committee on Institutional Cooperation, National Council for Research on Women, and others.

While at the University of Minnesota, she also launched a Work/Life program for all faculty and staff to address work/life issues that were factors preventing women from advancing in higher education positions of leadership. Through those efforts, she developed a comprehensive approach to integrating work/life effectiveness into University organizational structure, supervisory practices, and work/life programs and services. In addition, Anita managed the “Keeping Our Faculties” symposium to address the recruitment and retention of faculty of color.

Anita currently serves on the Upper Midwest Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC) Board and the Minnesota College and University Personnel Association –Human Resources Board (MnCUPA-HR). She is an active member in the American Society of Training and Development and the OD Network. She is also a contributing writer and editor of a blog for leaders in higher education at: http://higheredgeblog.com/