Positioning AIR for What’s Next in Higher Education

As I think about this past year with the Board, I'm proud of the strides we've made together to advance the mission of AIR. We worked to broaden pathways to volunteer leadership within AIR, aiming to reflect the rich diversity of our community in our leadership structures. As a part of those efforts the Board approved important updates to our Governance Policies that clarified the qualifications required for AIR leadership roles. Ultimately, these changes were designed to support the Nominations and Elections Committee in assembling a well-qualified and diverse pool of nominees, ensuring strong leadership for AIR’s future—which I believe they certainly did this year.

And as we navigate an era of rapid change in higher education, the Board has also prioritized strategic foresight to anticipate and prepare for emerging challenges and opportunities. In October 2024, during our fall meeting right here at Rosen Shingle Creek, we engaged in a comprehensive strategic foresight session led by experts from the ASAE Center for Association Leadership. This session introduced us to futures thinking, emphasizing practices like framing, scanning, and forecasting to better understand potential drivers of change. We then used those skills to do a strategic foresight exercise during our spring meeting in Chicago to examine potential future impacts of our organizational membership and the additional 5,500 organizational members that it brings to AIR and what it means to serve that broader data community.

Building on this foundation, the Board has committed to integrating strategic foresight into our ongoing governance practices. By doing so, we aim to position AIR to proactively address the dynamic landscape of institutional research and higher education. Our focus on strategic foresight ensures that AIR remains a steady and supportive community for IR and IE professionals. Together, we can navigate the complexities of our field with confidence and clarity, and I look forward to doing just that with the board and the executive office next year.

In other Board news, please take a moment to read about highlights from the association’s annual meeting, which was held in May at the AIR Forum. Also, join me in welcoming our newest elected leaders, who I look forward to working with this upcoming year.