Our Team

Scott Flanagan

Dr. Scott Flanagan is on a mission to help the institutions he works with to find and develop the senior leaders they need to thrive. He has dedicated years to honing his recruiting craft and furthering his education to become a national leader in this important work.

Due to his professional experience, academic preparation, and well-developed networks, Dr. Flanagan helps institutions think strategically about their needs, attract strong and diverse candidate pools, and engage in processes that result in selecting leaders ideally suited for that institution at that moment. It is in this area that Dr. Flanagan excels, and it’s what makes him an asset in every executive search.

Before joining Academic Search in 2019, Dr. Flanagan spent 21 years on Edgewood College’s executive staff, culminating with a five-year stint as its president. He also served as the private Dominican college’s vice president of planning and enrollment and spent three years on the education faculty. Throughout his higher education career, Dr. Flanagan earned the esteem of his colleagues and was elected to several honorable positions, including a three-year term on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and president of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, an NCAA Division III conference. In addition, Dr. Flanagan was a member of the executive committee and chair of the Dominican Higher Education Consortium, the nationwide association of Dominican colleges and universities.

Prior to his time at Edgewood College, Dr. Flanagan served as vice president of enrollment services at the University of St. Francis in Indiana, where he earned his MBA. A Wisconsin native, Dr. Flanagan received his bachelor’s degree in political science and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Flanagan earned a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania and recently received a certificate in professional coaching from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After holding this array of cabinet titles and working alongside all executive positions, Dr. Flanagan can confidently assist across a wide variety of job openings in higher education.

As a lifelong higher education devotee, Dr. Flanagan has found his niche in the consulting and recruiting realm. He is known for his ability to attentively listen to the needs of his campus partners and underscore the goals the institution hopes to accomplish in the future. By highlighting these desires, Dr. Flanagan can scour his extensive network to find the precise candidates who have the potential to lead the school to success. It is common for Dr. Flanagan to be sought out by the same institution multiple times for various searches, as he is excellent at earning a staff’s trust and maintaining the bonds he builds.