West Cook News

Adler University President to step down in 2024

Adler University President Raymond E. Crossman, Ph.D., announced today he will step down at the end of the next academic year. He has served as the University’s sixth president since 2003 and is one of the longest-serving university presidents in the U.S. and Canada.

“It has been an honor to serve the University for 20 years, and I am proud of how we’ve advanced social justice on our campuses and in communities,” said Crossman, who has served as faculty and in administration in higher education for 31 years. “We’ve built a university animated by the philosophy of Alfred Adler and grown enrollments and resources tenfold, broadening our impact on the world through the work of our students, faculty, staff, alums, and partnerships.”

With a commitment to advancing social justice, the institution has seen significant growth throughout Crossman’s tenure, and its footprint expanded from Chicago to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2005, followed by the launch of the the Online Campus in 2015. Adler has achieved numerous milestones stewarded by Crossman since 2003, including:

• Undergoing a transformative name, curricular, and strategic change from the Adler School of Professional Psychology to Adler University, and approximately a 900% increase in student enrollment from 200 to nearly 2,000.
• Launching more than 20 new academic programs. This includes the first military psychology doctoral program, the bachelor completion program in applied psychology offered at Big Muddy River Correctional Center, and Canada’s first scholar-practitioner doctorate in clinical psychology.
• Earning the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification in 2015 and President Obama’s Higher Education Community Service Award in 2016.
• Supporting the growth of philanthropic efforts and increasing revenue to strengthen the University’s financial positioning. Over the past 19 years, revenue has grown by 948%. We completed our first comprehensive fundraising campaign, the Adler Campaign for Social Justice, in 2020, surpassing our $10M goal. Scholarship offerings have grown from $42,000 in 2003 to $6.7M this academic year.
• Building new world-class campus facilities in Chicago in 2010 and Vancouver in 2017. In 2016, we purchased the Chicago facility, resulting in annual savings of $1.6M to redeploy to education.

“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,” Crossman said in an email to campus. “Over the next 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.”

Beyond Adler, Crossman is regarded for his leadership in higher education. He serves on the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities Council of Presidents and the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Institutional Actions Council. Crossman is a past president of the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology, past chair of the Council of Chairs of Training Councils of the American Psychological Association (APA) and served on the Commission on Accreditation of the APA. His civic leadership includes service on the boards of Chicago Public Media, Thresholds, and Center on Halsted.

In 2017, he became the first university president to disclose his HIV status publicly, using his personal story to advocate for marginalized communities. He recently published LGBTQ Leadership in Higher Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022), the first on this topic, bringing together 15 LGBTQ presidents and chancellors to consider why diversity, inclusion, and equity in leadership are important to meet today’s challenges for higher education and human rights. He is the co-founder of LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education, which hosted its inaugural meeting in 2010 at Adler, chaired its first national conference for the development of LGBTQ leaders in higher education in 2015 at Adler, and co-chaired the growing advocacy organization from 2015-2018.

“Dr. Crossman embodies what it means to advocate for social justice, and he has championed innovation throughout his career and presidency,” said Adler University Board of Trustees Chair Noland Joiner. “It has been a privilege to work with him, and we look forward to continuing to do so over the next 18 months. I want to thank him for his dedication to Adler’s students, faculty, staff, alums, and community partners. He has truly done his part to make the world a better place.”

In the weeks to come, the University will share more details about the upcoming presidential search and the committee that will be formed of Adler stakeholders. The search is anticipated to begin this fall, with interviews occurring in early 2024.

Original source can be found here