Visionary Leadership
A Proven Pathway to Visionary Change
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“I have followed Bill Ihlenfeldt’s career for several decades, and he truly is an expert in visionary leadership. He views visionary leadership as a process rather than a trait, and he offers practical tips on making that process work in your organization. This book contains proven strategies from his own experience and is a must-read for anyone who truly wants to become a visionary leader.”
—Steven H. Tallant, Ph.D., President, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
“Bill Ihlenfeldt is a hands-on example of how a chief executive officer can make or break an organization’s innovation culture. Bill comes by his authorship of Visionary Leadership honestly: He has lived its practice throughout his decades of experience in higher education. During his tenure as president of Chippewa Valley Technical College, Bill was in touch, not only with the region his college served, but with state, national and global trends that redefined education and the economy. His ability to envision working partnerships with the community, industry other educational institutions led to tangible centers to advance health care, manufacturing and nanotechnology. At the Wisconsin Technology Council, we stress the need for such partnerships within what we call the I-Q Corridor, a 400-mile interstate region that connects the Twin Cities through Chicago via the power of ideas, intellectual property, investment and quality. Bill has the vision to see the larger picture and the leadership skills to follow through.”
—Tom Still, President, Wisconsin Technology Council and Wisconsin Innovation Network
“The current education system is working hard to traditionally prepare students for a non-traditional, unpredictable future. The 21st Century is already 10 years old, and we have much work to be done. Ihlenfeldt states that ‘we (leaders) can no longer afford to walk slow and talk fast’ in education. The transformation that needs to happen in education takes the type of visionary leadership that Dr.Ihlenfeldt writes about. A must read for every K12, and higher education leader.”
—Trent Grundmeyer,K12 Principal, and Author of No Teacher Left Behind
“Bill Ihlenfeldt has proven time and time again that he is a visionary leader for public higher education. As President of Chippewa Valley Technical College, he introduced modern, cutting-edge academic programs to meet statewide needs and provided excellent classroom and laboratory experiences for students. His insight and thoughtful analysis of leadership will make a significant contribution to this essential topic.”
—Charles W. Sorensen, Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-Stout
“Bill Ihlenfeldt’s collaborative spirit has been instrumental in bringing people together to solve the challenges of the 21st century. His insight, creative problem-solving and leadership have helped to position Wisconsin in the forefront of emerging technologies.”
—Ms. Mickey Judkins, Executive Director, Division of Global Ventures, Wisconsin Department of Commerce
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About the Book
What will higher education look like in 20 years? Will a bachelor’s degree still be viable—or even valuable? How will we assess learning? Will it be competency based? Determined by the sum experience of individual achievement? Or measured by student peers? How will learning be delivered? In the classroom? Over the internet? Or through mobile devices untethered by time and place? And by whom? By professors dedicated to their disciplines, by volunteers driven by a passion to share, or by new kinds of learning communities, as yet unimagined?
This much is certain: education is changing. But today, the higher education community is struggling with serious challenges: budget dollars are tighter than ever; our capacity to admit students who want an education has diminished sharply; and in the U.S., our standing as the premier global provider of advanced education is slipping. Imagining a new future for higher education will require vision—a creative capacity to see what might be possible for tomorrow’s learners—and resolve—the ability to assess risk, forge new kinds of partnerships, and move confidently toward goals, even under difficult circumstances.
SunGard Higher Education worked closely with Dr. Ihlenfeldt over the years as he worked tirelessly to shape a new future for Chippewa Valley Technical College. Today CVTC boasts a nationally recognized faculty, state-of-the art facilities and equipment, online and blended classrooms, and partnerships with area businesses that help to sustain a community. Visionary leadership informed by careful analysis can make a tremendous difference in people’s lives. These are skills Bill shares with all of us in his book, Visionary Leadership. Its publication couldn’t be timelier and SunGard Higher Education is proud to sponsor its publication.
About the Author
Bill Ihlenfeldt spent forty-two years in higher-education leadership working to change the face of the nations’ community colleges. During his tenure he challenged higher education to operate utilizing a data-rich model designed to increase productivity and innovation and at the same time reduce costs. Utilizing those concepts in his leadership role, which has been referred to as visionary, he led many innovative changes at the college. Those changes included incorporating simulation into healthcare education to increase the number and quality of graduates, a working on-campus health education center/clinic in partnership with a medical and a dental college, one of the nation’s first nanotechnology programs, and a nanotechnology innovation center called Nano Rite to stimulate private sector economic development.
Ihlenfeldt modeled concepts like speed-to-market, risk, measurement-based outcomes, and algorithm-based modeling as a way of life during his career. These techniques, more common in the business world, were integrated into higher education resulting in a college that has received local, state and national recognition as a visionary college that has propelled the surrounding region and higher education into the 21st century.
Ihlenfeldt lives in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, with his wife Barbara.