CLS invites you to share in a rare opportunity of the exploration between the literary and musical ties of The Colour of Music – Dr. Henry Tisdale, most recent retired president of Claflin University, will launch his newest publication in our Main Reading Room, focusing on how music changed the track of Claflin University, and the overall experience of black Collegians. Through the use of key strategies noted in his book, Tisdale changed the course of the small liberal arts college, and in turn changed the impact the institution has on students and faculty to this day. Join us to celebrate his work at Claflin and the cultural importance of the Black classical music festival.
Purchase tickets HERE.
About the Book
In Beyond the Western Wall, Tisdale provides a detailed guide as to how to apply the transformational visioning process as a key institutional change strategy. Hence, it is a true guide to understanding visionary leadership, and how to bring about transformational change. Chapter by chapter, he digs deeply into the launching of a presidency, academic excellence by design, Student Success, Innovations, Fundraising, and Succession Planning. Throughout the book, the author emphasizes the importance of knowing how to launch an effective and sustainable presidency, how to deploy transformational vision as a key change strategy, how to lead effective dynamic strategic planning, team building, and teamwork, and he also accentuates the importance of the partnership between the president and the board of trustees. It begins by knowing how to engage in a substantive discussion about roles and responsibilities and continuously having the board revisit their partnership with the president and their roles as institutional leaders, fundraisers, fiduciaries, and strategic planners. In fact, he shows throughout the book how the president can work effectively to establish and sustain a valuable partnership with the board always being clear on roles and responsibilities. By including examples and speeches throughout the work, he demonstrates the vital role of presidents leading from the front in communicating, visioning, strategic planning, and setting the tone for campus civility. He also goes to great lengths to discuss the president’s role in team building which begins with assessing the current strengths and always keeping the team informed as to the status of the team building progress while showing appreciation for what has been done. Also, in the book he emphasizes his experience as a tenured faculty and a faculty champion as it relates to expectations, recognition, and rewards. His attention to and focus on student success is extraordinary and results in phenomenal success in retention and graduation rates. Ultimately, Beyond the Western Wall is as much a case study of the author’s work as it is a how-to-do-it manual for transformational change. It takes the reader from the launching of a presidency to succession planning for his predecessor. Throughout the book, the author has developed a powerful guide for higher education leaders and others who want to use transformational visioning to reposition an organization for sustained success.
About the Author
Nationally recognized as a transformative leader in higher education, Henry N. Tisdale became the eighth president at Claflin University in 1994, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. He received a master’s degree from Temple University in the teaching of mathematics and another master’s in mathematics from Dartmouth College. He further became the first African American to receive a doctorate in mathematics from Dartmouth. Under his distinguished tenure, Claflin University was consistently ranked in the Top Ten among HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities) by reputable publications, gained unparallel state, regional and other national distinctions for academic excellence, fiscal stability, increased enrollment, remarkable retention and graduation rates and enhancements of both its physical infrastructure and research capacity, solidifying his prominence as an exceptional leader. Included among his numerous distinguished awards and honors before retirement in July 2019 are the CASE (Council of Advancement and Support of Education) Chief Executive Award, and the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian award presented by the governor of South Carolina. He remains active in retirement, serving as a member of the Dartmouth College Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies Advisory Board, the South Carolian Governor’s School of Science and Mathematics Board, the Lowcountry Food Bank Foundation Board, the Dominion Energy Environmental Justice Advisory Council, and the Williamsburg County Public School Foundation Board.
About the Colour of Music Festival
The Colour of Music Festival, Inc. presents a diverse classical repertoire of baroque, classical and 20th-century music at the highest of musical standards to diverse audiences nationally. The festival has presented in Atlanta, Charleston and Columbia, Nashville, Houston, Pittsburgh, Richmond, and Washington, D.C. Few classical music enthusiasts are aware of the tremendous contributions of Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges, an African-French composer whose opera and classical masterpieces equaled or far exceeded those of his 18th-century contemporaries. Although his compositions are highly recognized overseas, they have gathered little notice in the United States. Today there are thousands of celebrated and prodigiously talented classical principals, composers and performers of African descent throughout the world. Yet, their opportunities to grace concert stages of major American orchestras are rare to non-existent. The Colour of Music Festival’s mission is reversing this trend. Since 2013, the Colour of Music Festival offers a musical kaleidoscope highlighting the impact and historical significance of Black classical composers and performers on American and world culture. The Colour of Music Festival began with performances at various venues throughout historic Charleston, South Carolina and has grown to debut in cities across the country with artists from across the globe. Assembling acclaimed Black chamber ensemble players and artists to form the Colour of Music Orchestra, the Festival showcases some of the top Black classical musicians in the United States, trained at some of the most prestigious music schools, conservatories and universities in the world.
