West Cook News

Announcement from President Crossman

Next year will be my 20th serving as the president of Adler University. My longevity in the position and the natural rhythms of the University have led me to believe that now is the time for me to step aside to make way for Adler’s seventh president.

I am writing to let you know I have informed the Board of Trustees that next academic year will be my last serving as president. I decided to share this news now to give the Board and the University 18 months to search for and secure the next president. Board Chair Noland Joiner will write to you later today to begin the search for a new president who will start September 1, 2024.

Together, we have much to do over the coming year and a half. Our Strategic Plan for 2023 – 2026: Building Community for Social Justice marshalled your input to define a path to advance our mission with courage and purpose. I am excited that I will steward the first year of this plan with you – a year that will produce a shared understanding of social justice realized in our governance and operations, our collective activism reimagined through Adler Action Days, gains attained in fundraising and scholarships, and a new leadership institute launched. We will continue our work to ensure that we welcome all voices, as well as support belonging, inclusion, and wellness equitably across our community. Together with the Board, Cabinet, and senior leadership team, I am dedicated to this important work in the coming year, and I’m committed to a transition that welcomes the next president of Adler University to an institution that has never been stronger or more important for our world.

I joined Adler 20 years ago as a young leader – full of optimism and appreciation for the possibilities of the Adlerian worldview. My optimism was elevated by your dedication and passion. Across my tenure, the institution increased ten-fold in enrollments and resources to broaden our impact, refined our mission and changed our name to better advance the principles and teachings of Alfred Adler, emboldened our learning environment to exemplify social justice expectations and outcomes, improved our scholarships and campus facilities to center students, and graduated thousands of Adlerians who are changing the world. I am proud of what we have accomplished together, and moreso, I am humbled by how much I have learned from this community of Adlerians and the sacred conversation we engage to continue the work of Alfred Adler. I stand in awe of our accomplishments. And, as much as Adler has changed and grown over the past 20 years, I believe I have been as changed through our enterprise over these wondrous years.

I will always be a grateful to be an Adlerian. I look forward to building on our strengths over the coming year and a half. We will continue to nurture within our university a community committed to social justice – and outside our walls a broader community for social justice through our alums, partnerships, and influence.

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