Hobart and William Smith Colleges

 

Professor of Geoscience and Associate Provost Nicholas Metz has been selected for the 2026-27 Senior Leadership Academy, a yearlong program offered by the Council of Independent Colleges and the American Academic Leadership Institute.

 

Metz, who serves as Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Development and Chair of Bidisciplinary Courses, joins administrators from independent colleges and universities across the country to fill gaps in their expertise. The academy prepares experienced administrators for senior leadership roles while expanding their understanding of areas across higher education through executive coaching, readings, webinars, campus visits and other activities.

 

For Metz, the program offers an opportunity to build skills beyond those typically acquired through faculty and administrative experience. “Somebody in my position doesn’t necessarily go to school for it,” he says. “You start doing all these things and realize some probably come pretty easily while others are learned through experience. So, this is an opportunity to actually go to school.”

 

Candidates interested in joining the program must be nominated by their campus executive leader who then serves as a mentor throughout the program. In Metz’s case, that mentor is Provost and Dean of Faculty Sarah Kirk, who describes him as an experienced, highly effective academic administrator ready to take the next step into senior leadership.

With its emphasis on cabinet-level responsibilities and institutional strategy, Kirk says the Senior Leadership Academy builds on Metz’s strengths while giving him opportunities to deepen his experience in other areas.

“Since joining my staff three and a half years ago, Nick has become an indispensable partner,” Kirk says. Metz, she says, is appreciated for his judgment, integrity and calm approach to complex institutional challenges. “He brings a strategic mindset and deep understanding of the interconnected work of faculty, students, finances, facilities and external stakeholders.”

Recently, Metz led the Science Faculty Working Group for a year and a half, convening more than 200 meetings with faculty across the sciences to shape plans for the 40,000-square-foot Fish Center for the Sciences.

The project included more than new construction. While two existing buildings underwent major renovation and a third was vacated, faculty had to adapt their work and reorganize their departments to maintain uninterrupted academic and research programs while simultaneously imagining their future work processes in the Fish Center.

Kirk says Metz’s work with the Science Faculty Working Group — including his ability to navigate difficult conversations and competing priorities — offered one of the clearest demonstrations of his readiness for senior leadership.

Recently, he partnered with colleagues from Colby College and Denison University to develop and implement the Associate Dean Leadership Accelerator (an orientation and leadership program for middle-tier academic administrators) in collaboration with the American Conference of Academic Deans. Kirk says the initiative reflects his commitment to leadership development and cross-institutional collaboration.

Metz joined the HWS faculty in 2011, teaching courses in hydrometeorology and weather analysis, as well as a first-year seminar exploring climate change and the intersection of science and politics. He specializes in meteorology, especially the effects of high-impact weather on climate, including large-scale weather systems and severe weather affecting the Finger Lakes and Great Lakes regions such as lake-effect snow and thunderstorms.

Off campus, he is the director of the Northeast Partnership for Atmospheric and Related Sciences Research Experiences for Undergraduates, a joint effort between HWS and Plymouth State University.

In the Senior Leadership Academy, Metz will create a professional experience plan focused on skills he wants to strengthen and work with mentors, coaches and fellow administrators throughout the year. The program includes seminars in Baltimore in November and Washington, D.C., in June 2027.

“It’s a cross section of people who are interested in building their leadership profiles,” Metz says. “It’s instructive to have conversations with other folks who are in similar positions.”

Metz says he is particularly interested in understanding how administrators in different roles approach their institutions’ challenges.

“Seeing how other people in other parts of the country are faring, and what their reactions are, it’s going to be really valuable.”