AUGUST ADVISORY

Built for What Comes Next.

Strategic advisory for higher education leaders.

When a president or provost announces a strategic plan, a task force, or a new initiative, the real work begins. That work deserves undivided attention. I take responsibility for that work, from first design to final reports: the structure, the pacing, the people, the result. Senior help, embedded with your team, for exactly as long as the work requires.

I believe colleges and universities have good bones. The commitment to rigorous inquiry, to pushing the boundaries of what we know, to the lingering conversation on the quad or in the classroom that changes how someone sees the world, all of these are worth protecting. Not by doing everything, but by having the clarity and courage to do a few things exceptionally well.

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Services

How I Can Help

I work with leaders and institutions across a range of situations, from stepping into a new role to steadying a unit under strain, launching something new, or getting a critical project across the line. I don't just advise from the outside; I help produce the actual work, whether that is a board memo, a clear set of priorities, or a plan the cabinet can run with.

01

Strategic Initiative Execution

When your institution commits to something visible, such as a strategic plan implementation, a presidential task force, or a commission with a real deadline, the effort deserves someone whose whole job is to see it through. I help design the effort end-to-end, serve as counsel to initiative leadership, keep working groups on task and on time, and take responsibility for delivering results that leadership can act on, on schedule. This is focused, time-limited help for institutions that need to move on something important while internal capacity is stretched. I bring the capacity to get the work done, without the cost or commitment of a permanent hire.

02

Leadership Transition Support

A sustained partnership for a dean, provost, or president in a new role or a period of real change. I help you assess your team, set priorities that help make real progress, and find the focal points that truly deserve attention when everything feels urgent. The aim is straightforward: that you lead with confidence and build something that lasts.

03

Strategic Planning

Focused strategy for a school, division, or unit, grounded in candid conversation about what to prioritize, what to sunset, and what to do first. I also help institutions dust off and refresh existing plans when the context and the stakes have changed. The result is a plan that reflects real priorities, that the community buys into, and that gets used, not shelved.

04

Organizational Assessment

A clear-eyed look at how a team, unit, or division is really working, and what needs to change. I give leaders honest findings, a practical roadmap, and a credible path forward.

About

Samantha Carney

I founded August Advisory after more than twenty years in higher education. Those years kept me close to how universities actually run, including inside the offices where the hardest decisions get made. I believe deeply in what higher education, at its best, can do for people and for the country. I also understand how difficult it is to realize that potential when balancing one hundred urgent things. August Advisory exists for leaders who want to go deep on a few things that truly matter.

My work has taken me from Boston and Cambridge, to Chicago, to North Carolina, to colleges and universities across the country. I've worked in admissions, institutional research, and presidents' offices across half a dozen institutions, led a national initiative on the future of public research universities at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, served as Assistant Vice Provost of Strategic Initiatives at the University of Chicago and Senior Associate Vice President for Strategy & Policy at the University of North Carolina System Office, and consulted for institutions across the country with Huron. I bring that experience, and a real belief in what is possible, to every engagement.

Contact

Get in Touch

If your institution has committed to something consequential, or you are stepping into something new yourself, I would welcome a conversation.

Location
Chapel Hill, NC