At the heart of every thriving society is a quality education, and the leaders courageous enough to advance it. That conviction drove our founders when they established GA&A in 2004. Former university presidents and tenured faculty, they understood from lived experience the profound impact exceptional leadership has on institutional vitality and mission. We believe that leaders, at every level, shape what an institution can become and what it can offer the world. That belief remains the foundation of everything we do.
Over the last two decades, GA&A has evolved into something beyond a search firm. We are a leadership solutions practice, applying the science of leadership assessment to help institutions find, develop, and sustain the leaders they need to thrive. Our work is grounded in evidence: behavioral science, predictive modeling, and decades of placement data drawn from over 2,000 successful engagements across higher education and K-12 systems. We don’t simply recruit — we listen, evaluate, advise, and partner with institutions at every stage of the leadership lifecycle.
Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, and strengthened through our integration with Kelly Services, Inc., GA&A brings national reach and deep sector expertise to every engagement. Our twenty-plus consultants are strategically positioned across the country — former presidents, provosts, student affairs leaders, and senior administrators from across the education landscape. Together, they bring practitioner credibility alongside rigorous methodology. Whether conducting a comprehensive executive search, building a targeted recruitment pool, providing executive coaching, or placing experienced interim leaders during times of transition, our focus remains the same: helping institutions secure the leadership they need to advance their mission and strengthen the communities they serve.
The GA&A team is a nationally recognized group of education-focused leadership consultants who bring something most search firms cannot: we have led the institutions we serve. Former presidents, provosts, deans, student affairs leaders, and senior administrators from across the education sector, our consultants combine practitioner insight with rigorous, evidence-based methodology to identify leaders with the capability, values, and vision each institution needs to move forward.
Executive Search:
At Greenwood Asher & Associates, we approach executive search a little differently than most. We believe in the power of partnerships and collaboration, combined with evidence-based best practices and experience, to design a customized search for the unique needs and characteristics of each institution we serve. By providing concierge-level service and support to our clients and candidates, we are able to identify and recruit high-quality, diverse, executive talent. Our comprehensive referencing allows the search committee to confidently assess candidates and select the best person to lead the institution in fulfilling its mission.
Key positions we support:
Coaching & Assessment:
Educational organizations know that learning never ends. For true leaders, there’s always room for self-discovery and growth. We customize our services to develop senior and emerging leaders for long-term success through coaching partnerships and use of objective, predictive, and analytical tools.
Identifying the right leader often begins with an accurate and reliable assessment of current leadership competencies. During the selection process, we use a highly effective assessment tool that measures behaviors and maps them to a relevant competency model. Considered in combination with other information, valid and reliable assessment data supports a more informed selection process.
Strategic Services:
High performing leaders constantly evaluate their organization’s performance and potential to ensure growth and sustainability. We support our clients by facilitating strategic planning, conducting academic program/organizational reviews, and benchmarking policies and practices. We partner with institutions to design a planning process that best matches the culture and needs of the institution. Our work includes the use of evidence-based approaches, assessment of current and desired status through multiple mechanisms, grassroots engagement, development of measurement dashboards, and leadership development for those involved with strategic planning implementation.
INTERIM SEARCH SERVICES:
Leadership transitions are defining moments for institutions. When a gap emerges, expected or not, how an institution navigates that period shapes its trajectory long after a permanent leader is in place. We match institutions with experienced leaders who bring not only the credentials to stabilize operations, but the judgment and adaptability to advance mission-critical priorities during transition. Backed by GA&A’s national network and evidence-based assessment methodology, we move with urgency without sacrificing quality.
A growing number of top colleges around the country are looking for high-profile leaders to take them into the future. In most cases, executive recruiting firms have had a hand in some aspect of the search and selection process. Atlanta-based Parker Executive Search, for one, has been enlisted to find the next president for the University
Greenwood / Asher & Associates is helping to find the next chancellor for the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith (UAFS). Former chancellor Paul Beran left the school in August to accept a position with the South Dakota Higher Education Board of Regents. Margaret Tanner, associate provost for academic affairs at the Fort Smith campus and search
Greenwood / Asher & Associates has been retained by the University of South Florida (USF) to spearhead the search for its seventh president. Judy Genshaft is stepping down after 19 years leading the school. Les Muma, chair of the search committee, said in a conference call last week that four search firms were presented and he
The hunt for university leadership has been heating up, especially with searches for provosts. Just recently, Greenwood / Asher & Associates recruited Susan Edwards as the new executive vice president for academic affairs and provost of Wright State University in Fairborn, OH. Thomas Sudkamp is stepping down from his role at the end of June. President Jan