William A. Ihlenfeldt Ph.D 
Visionary Leadership 
A Proven Pathway to Visionary Change

What will higher education look like in 20 years? Will a bachelors degree still be viableor even valuable? How will we assess learning? Will it be competency based? Determined by the sum experience of individual achievement? Or measured by student peers? How will learning be delivered? In the classroom? Over the internet? Or through mobile devices untethered by time and place? And by whom? By professors dedicated to their disciplines, by volunteers driven by a passion to share, or by new kinds of learning communities, as yet unimagined?
This much is certain: education is changing. But today, the higher education community is struggling with serious challenges: budget dollars are tighter than ever; our capacity to admit students who want an education has diminished sharply; and in the U.S., our standing as the premier global provider of advanced education is slipping. Imagining a new future for higher education will require visiona creative capacity to see what might be possible for tomorrows learnersand resolvethe ability to assess risk, forge new kinds of partnerships, and move confidently toward goals, even under difficult circumstances.
Sun Gard Higher Education worked closely with Dr. Ihlenfeldt over the years as he worked tirelessly to shape a new future for Chippewa Valley Technical College. Today CVTC boasts a nationally recognized faculty, state-of-the art facilities and equipment, online and blended classrooms, and partnerships with area businesses that help to sustain a community. Visionary leadership informed by careful analysis can make a tremendous difference in peoples lives. These are skills Bill shares with all of us in his book, Visionary Leadership. Its publication couldnt be timelier and Sun Gard Higher Education is proud to sponsor its publication.

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Bill Ihlenfeldt spent forty-two years in higher-education leadership working to change the face of the nations’ community colleges. During his tenure he challenged higher education to operate utilizing a data-rich model designed to increase productivity and innovation and at the same time reduce costs. Utilizing those concepts in his leadership role, which has been referred to as visionary, he led many innovative changes at the college. Those changes included incorporating simulation into healthcare education to increase the number and quality of graduates, a working on-campus health education center/clinic in partnership with a medical and a dental college, one of the nation’s first nanotechnology programs, and a nanotechnology innovation center called Nano Rite to stimulate private sector economic development.
Ihlenfeldt modeled concepts like speed-to-market, risk, measurement-based outcomes, and algorithm-based modeling as a way of life during his career. These techniques, more common in the business world, were integrated into higher education resulting in a college that has received local, state and national recognition as a visionary college that has propelled the surrounding region and higher education into the 21st century.
Ihlenfeldt lives in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, with his wife Barbara.