Navigating Higher Ed’s Changing Waters Together

Coaching for Higher Ed Leaders and Aspiring Administrators

Falling enrollments. Declining public opinion. Budget cuts. Political interference. Today’s higher education leaders are navigating an entirely new set of challenges than even five years ago. Drawing from the lessons I’ve learned as an athlete and my decades of experience at a large research AAU institution and small liberal arts college—with all the successes and the difficulties along the way—I want to provide current and future leaders with the right mindset and skills to flourish and to help build a future for higher ed that reflects what our society needs.

Ways to Work Together

Helping higher education administrators develop strategy and planning in everything from academic programming and organizational culture to enrollment strategy and leadership communications.

Performance & Success Coaching

Career Planning

Offering career planning and promotion coaching for current and aspiring administrators at all levels to develop the skills necessary to seek and secure a job that provides growth and personal fulfillment.

Leadership Consulting

Providing support to university leadership, including governing boards, on strategic planning, shared governance, and political pressures. Available to aid executive firms or associations in leadership searches.

Are we a good fit?

I have deep first-hand experience and proven success with many of the challenges higher ed leaders are facing today, among them:

  • Strategic enrollment management

  • Budget cuts and operational efficiencies

  • Fundraising and alumni relations

  • Accreditation

  • Crisis communication

  • Building leadership teams

  • Career mapping

What Others Say

“Pat Okker is a natural coach to senior executives. She understands and has managed with courage and grace the extraordinary challenges of higher education today. Still, she maintains a spirit of optimism and belief in the future as she continues to play a role in creating a new generation of leaders, which we sorely need.”



— Esther Barazzone, President Emerita, Chatham University

 

“When I was a first-time department chair, Pat Okker was my Dean. Adjusting to my new role went relatively smoothly due to Pat’s dedication to mentoring new chairs, her clarity about processes and procedures, and her commitment to transparency. The confidence she expressed in my own abilities and the role model she provided have helped me immeasurably as I moved into new leadership roles.”


— Catherine Rymph, Dean of the Honors College and Professor of History, University of Missouri

“Dr. Okker is a highly respected leader at every level of the university in which she worked. Her true leadership capacity comes from her depth of care and concern for the Academy and its potential for improving society. She inspires professional excellence in others by setting standards of excellence and following her own high ideals in every aspect of her profession.”



— Brady Deaton, Chancellor Emeritus, University of Missouri

“There’s no way of getting around something until you meet it head on.”

— Herman Melville, Moby-Dick