Dr. Shantay N. Bolton

Summary

Shantay N. Bolton, Ph.D., MBA, ODCP is President and Chief Executive Officer of Columbia College Chicago. As the college’s 11th president, Bolton will lead the institution in its mission to provide a comprehensive education in media arts, technology, and business within a context of enlightened liberal education. She previously served as Georgia Tech’s chief business officer and is the first woman of color to lead Columbia, marking a historic milestone for the 135-year-old institution.

Profile

As the college’s 11th President and Chief Executive Officer of Columbia College Chicago, Bolton leads the institution in its mission to provide a comprehensive education in media arts, technology, and business within a context of enlightened liberal education.

“President-designate Bolton has been a transformational leader in higher education and has been recognized as an effective organizational strategist in every institution she has served,” said John M. Holmes, chair of the Columbia College Chicago board of trustees. “The board believes Dr. Bolton is the right leader to propel Columbia forward and to enhance our status as a national and international leader in helping young creatives of all backgrounds launch their careers, and in fueling the creative economy.”

“As a proud first-generation college student myself, I understand the fundamental transformational power of institutions like Columbia, where students of all backgrounds start their creative careers,” Bolton said. “Columbia has been an educational and cultural anchor in Chicago for 135 years. I plan to build on Columbia’s unique creative culture and strengthen connections to industry and the civic community at a time when creativity is widely viewed by employers as one of the most sought-after skills.”

Dr. Bolton was most recently the Special Advisor to the President and Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance and Chief Business Officer at the Georgia Institute of Technology with responsibility for administrative policy development, oversight of the strategic enterprise and operational functions. Before this role, she served as the Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Administrative Officer at Washington University in St. Louis, and as the first Vice President & Deputy Chief Operating Officer at Tulane University.

Dr. Bolton has more than 20 years experience in business operations, human resources, leadership development, employee engagement, talent management and strategic training projects through organizational change initiatives. She also provides thought leadership on generational differences in the workplace and coaching of multigenerational project leaders. As the creator of E3©: Engage, Educate, Empower an Action Learning Model for Employee Engagement and Coaching, she uses it as the foundation to build teams in government, corporate, higher education and nonprofit industries. She is also a two time Titan 100 recipient (St. Louis and Atlanta), recognized for her “reputable, distinguished and highly preeminent” contribution to higher education and her community as a chief executive officer.

Dr. Bolton is a professional devoted to connecting theory to practical application through the building of human capital assets with recognized strengths in setting strategic direction and implementing initiatives that enhance organizational performance. She is a 2019 Aspen Economic Opportunities Fellow, Certified MBTI Practitioner, Certified Executive Coach (ICF-ACTP), Certified Business Coach (ICF-ACTP), Organizational Development Certified Professional and 6-Thinking Hats/Parallel Thinking Trainer. The founder of both the Tulane University Leadership Institute (TULI) and the Washington University in St. Louis Institute for Leadership Excellence (ILE). She is a graduate of Alabama A&M University, Bachelors in Psychology, Masters in Counseling Psychology, Walden University, Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology (Industrial concentration) and a MBA in Corporate Business from Florida International University.

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