Center for Leadership and Governance

Mission and Purpose

The Center for Leadership and Governance was established in 2018 by the Board of Trustees of Thomas Edison State University as a platform to leverage the 35-year transformational presidency of Dr. George A. Pruitt to enhance and support effective executive leadership in higher education. Pruitt, president emeritus and board distinguished fellow, is the Center’s resident scholar and Dr. Melissa A. Maszczak serves as senior fellow and director of the Center.

Senior Executive Higher Education Master Class Outcomes

The cornerstone of the Center's work is an invitational yearlong master class led by Drs. Pruitt and Maszczak. The class is an intimate, highly selective professional development program designed for experienced, high-performing senior executives: provosts, vice presidents and deans of large complex schools who have demonstrated the experience, attributes and temperament to be an effective college or university president.

The master class has four components: a group seminar that meets once a month, comprising topical discussions curated by Pruitt and Maszczak, an individualized professional development strategy, a personalized career advancement strategy and networking opportunities that includes periodic special topic sessions and an annual invitational convening of all cohorts in Washington, D.C. The Center is currently launching its eighth cohort. To date, three master class participants have been offered college and university presidencies.

Additionally, an emotional-intelligence assessment using a valid and reliable instrument is administered to class participants. This serves to provide feedback on this valuable attribute shown to be an essential component of effective leaders.

External national experts are invited to engage participants in discussions on specific topics, including managing the economics of an institution; government relations at the local, state, and federal level; managing the presidential search process and negotiating presidential contracts and employment agreements. 

To obtain objective, valid and reliable feedback that the outcomes are consistent with the mission, purpose and objectives of the class, the Center utilizes two course evaluation tools: a personal exit interview and a student satisfaction survey. 

Coaching and Mentoring

In addition to the master class, the Center offers complimentary coaching and mentoring to presidents, chiefs of staff and other senior executives. Pruitt has consulted regularly with nine sitting college and university presidents across the country as well as two secretaries of higher education for the State of New Jersey. Maszczak has consulted regularly with chiefs of staff and other senior executives around the country. The institutions served by these executives ranged from large, complex R1 public research universities to historically Black colleges. These institutions are located in the following states:

• California
• Indiana
• Illinois
• Maryland
• New Jersey
• New York
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Tennessee
• Wisconsin

Other Contributions to the Field

Pruitt continues to contribute to the field through speaking engagements, panel discussions, interviews, media appearances and publications. He is the author of "From Protest to President: A Social Justice Journey Through the Emergence of Adult Education and the Birth of Distance Learning," published by the Rutgers University press as well as numerous published articles on leadership and governance. He was recently acknowledged by Morgan State University when he was awarded his 7th honorary degree. He is also an author-in-residence at higherendjobs.com.

Maszczak has emerged as a nationally recognized leadership scholar. She collaborated with Pruitt in the writing of his book "From Protest to President: A Social Justice Journey Through the Emergence of Adult Education and the Birth of Distance Learning." In addition, she has authored several published articles on leadership and governance and her recent article, "Why Effective Leaders are Both Transformational and Transactional," was recommended as required reading for the H.E.R.S. National Institute. She is also an author-in-residence at higheredjobs.com. During her committee and board service to the National Association of Presidential Assistants in Higher Education, she served as board secretary; Professional Development Committee chair, where she founded a peer-mentoring program; membership committee chair, achieving membership revenues of 130% of the budgeted goal; a member of the nominating committee and served on the executive director search committee. Maszczak was the recipient of the 2026 NAPAHE Distinguished Service Award, presented at the association’s national conference in San Antonio, Texas in 2026.