Session Type: Roundtable Accepted by MIG(s): Development Time Allotted: 75 Description: Academia is facing a serious challenge: Over the course of the next few years many of those in administration will retire with few prepared to replace them. The purpose of this program is to outline an initiative to nurture in-house talent. The program and its products will be presented. Abstract: Two trends in academia have been receiving attention: Faculty who are not retiring (e.g., the Chronical on Higher Education, September 3, 1999, The Boston Globe, December 27, 2006, The Becker-Posner blog, July 6, 2008) and a large number of administrators who will be. The first reflects a combination of a more vital aging process whereby faculty do not feel ready to retire as well as financial concerns of retirement. The second acknowledges that while faculty may be choosing to stay on, administrators are less inclined to do so. In the past years more conferences addressing the development of leadership have emerged. Some focus on students in general, such as The Arkansas Student Leadership Forum, and others focus on gender, such as Women as Global Leaders sponsored by Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates. Conferences and workshops also address the needs of academic administration, such as the American Council on Education workshops for Chairs, sessions for prospective Deans and Presidents, and the ACE Fellowship program. There is also an abundance of private organizations offering leadership training (e.g., Center for Creative Leadership.) However, these programs are both time intensive and expensive. Furthermore, there is always a risk that they will serve as a stepping stone away from the endorsing institution. Several university systems have developed in-house leadership programs (e.g., University of Missouri System’s President’s Academic Leadership Institute, University of North Carolina Professional Development Portal and The University of Washington’s ADVANCE program). Yet these tend to address the needs of existing or newly appointed administrators. The void that still remains is that of the next generation, after those already serving in leadership capacities retire. Thus there is a need for a program that will recruit and transform faculty into administrator-leaders. In early Winter 2008, the Dean of the College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock initiated an internal development program for rising faculty. The program recognizes that that "[m]ost faculty did not enter the academy with administration in mind, but many find themselves leading programs within departments or within the College." Its goal, therefore, was to "offer opportunities for selected faculty to enhance their ability to assume leadership positions." Applicants did not need to be in a leadership role, and it was therefore an opportunity for those interested in pursuing such a position in the future. The application was to include “a description of a specific higher education topic that will be investigated, a statement addressing the value of this topic to the department or College,” and required Chair support. The inaugural program began in the Fall of 2008. Two faculty members were selected. One project was an intensive faculty development program for incoming faculty, and the other a mentoring program for young women students. This program will present the Dean’s perspective as well as the implementation and experiences of the year-long program and present the projects developed by the faculty who participated in the inaugaural class. References: http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/archives/2008/07/the_graying_of.html Abstract: Two trends in academia have been receiving attention: Faculty who are not retiring (e.g., the Chronical on Higher Education, September 3, 1999, The Boston Globe, December 27, 2006, The Becker-Posner blog, July 6, 2008) and a large number of administrators who will be. The first reflects a combination of a more vital aging process whereby faculty do not feel ready to retire as well as financial concerns of retirement. The second acknowledges that while faculty may be choosing to stay on, administrators are less inclined to do so. In the past years more conferences addressing the development of leadership have emerged. Some focus on students in general, such as The Arkansas Student Leadership Forum, and others focus on gender, such as Women as Global Leaders sponsored by Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates. Conferences and workshops also address the needs of academic administration, such as the American Council on Education workshops for Chairs, sessions for prospective Deans and Presidents, and the ACE Fellowship program. There is also an abundance of private organizations offering leadership training (e.g., Center for Creative Leadership.) However, these programs are both time intensive and expensive. Furthermore, there is always a risk that they will serve as a stepping stone away from the endorsing institution. Several university systems have developed in-house leadership programs (e.g., University of Missouri System’s President’s Academic Leadership Institute, University of North Carolina Professional Development Portal and The University of Washington’s ADVANCE program). Yet these tend to address the needs of existing or newly appointed administrators. The void that still remains is that of the next generation, after those already serving in leadership capacities retire. Thus there is a need for a program that will recruit and transform faculty into administrator-leaders. In early Winter 2008, the Dean of the College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock initiated an internal development program for rising faculty. The program recognizes that that "[m]ost faculty did not enter the academy with administration in mind, but many find themselves leading programs within departments or within the College." Its goal, therefore, was to "offer opportunities for selected faculty to enhance their ability to assume leadership positions." Applicants did not need to be in a leadership role, and it was therefore an opportunity for those interested in pursuing such a position in the future. The application was to include “a description of a specific higher education topic that will be investigated, a statement addressing the value of this topic to the department or College,” and required Chair support. The inaugural program began in the Fall of 2008. Two faculty members were selected. One project was an intensive faculty development program for incoming faculty, and the other a mentoring program for young women students. This program will present the Dean’s perspective as well as the implementation and experiences of the year-long program and present the projects developed by the faculty who participated in the inaugaural class. References: http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/archives/2008/07/the_graying_of.html Elisabeth Sherwin, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Bio: Elisabeth Sherwin is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She has a longstanding interest in adjustment. While adjustment initially focused on disability, it now includes preparation and adjustment to faculty life, and to leadership roles. In particular she is interested in the development of leadership in young women.
Abstract: Sarah Beth Estes, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Bio: Sarah Beth Estes is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the coordinator of the Gender Studies Program. Previously she was on faculty in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cincinnati, and an affiliate of both the Kunz Center for the Study of Work and Family and the Women’s Studies program. Her research areas include gender, work, and family. She has twice received National Science Foundation funding for her research on these topics and has published widely in print and on-line formats, including The Journal of Family Issues, Work and Occupations, Sociological Quarterly, Sociological Perspectives, Sex Roles, and the on-line Alfred P. Sloan Work and Family Encyclopedia. She is currently part of the AHSS Leadership Development Program.Return to complete program |
