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Mr. Hicks

With three decades of executive experience in higher education administration, John B. Hicks is a Senior Consultant with Academic Search, Inc. 

On September 30, 2004, Mr. Hicks was named Secretary Emeritus to the Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama System, where he also served as Executive Assistant to the Chancellor. During his tenure in Alabama, he coordinated searches for fourteen Presidents and Chancellors as well as innumerable senior administrators – from Vice Chancellor and Vice President to General Counsel, Chief Information Officer, and General Auditor.

Mr. Hicks has been affiliated with the Association of Governing Boards (AGB), American Compensation Association (ACA), American Council on Education (ACE), College and University Personnel Association (CUPA), Japan-American Society of Alabama, and National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC).  A graduate of Leadership Alabama, he is a member of the Newcomen Society of North America, which is dedicated to recognizing exemplary leadership in building businesses and institutions.

Mr. Hicks consults nationally with governing boards and campus administrators on issues related to executive searches, compensation and benefits, and federal and state legislative issues and programs. He is an invited speaker to audiences of higher education professionals, where his counsel is sought on wide-ranging topics, and he has written for the AGB publication, Trusteeship. 

He has been instrumental in helping the AGB develop programs for executive staff who report to public and private university boards of trustees across the nation.   His service to that group was recognized in 2004 when he was one of two recipients of the prestigious certificate of distinction. 

Prior to arriving in Alabama, Mr. Hicks was affiliated with The University of Michigan Personnel Department, managing executive searches as well as employment, affirmative action and equal opportunity, benefits, and compensation issues. Before assuming his responsibilities in Michigan, he worked in administrative recruitment and human resource management at Purdue University.  He also established the first office for personnel, affirmative action/equal opportunity and fringe benefit administration for the thirteen-campus Indiana Vocational Technical College (now Ivy Tech State College).

Mr. Hicks earned a B.S. degree in Industrial Economics from the Krannert School of Industrial Management at Purdue University and an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Eastern Michigan University.  In 2004, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from The University of Alabama.

His record of state and community involvement includes service on the boards of the Alabama Shakespeare Finance Authority, the Alabama School of Math and Science, The Kentucky Festival of the Arts, the Tuscaloosa Arts and Humanities Council, and A Woman’s Place, a shelter for women at risk.