LVAIC Leadership Institute Shaping Higher Education Careers

March 12, 2018, @ 8:00 AM

The LVAIC Leadership Institute is in the midst of its inaugural year meeting each month for workshops regarding different aspects of higher education. More specifically, this program is a year-long professional development program focused on mid-career faculty and staff with the intention of exploring a long-term career in higher education.

The goals of this program are to: a.) expand understanding of current challenges faced by academic and administrative leaders in higher education; b.) prepare individuals to make informed career advancement decisions; and c.) foster collaborative relationships across function and campus communities. The program currently hosts 24 participants (4 individuals from each LVAIC campus). Each participant has been paired with a mentor from a similar career field on a different campus. The mentors will work with participants throughout the academic year. Participants meet for six three-hour sessions throughout the year on a monthly basis and attend two full-day sessions, which will culminate with a graduation ceremony in May 2018, as well as access additional resources between sessions via a learning management system.

The session topics will include: a.) exploring the emerging issues facing in higher education; b.) academic affairs: faculty governance, shared governance, and tenure; c.) finances in higher education: development, budgeting, and resource allocation; d.) student affairs panel discussion; e.) human resources: hiring, job description writing, performance management, and employment issues; f.) enrollment management from an organizational and student perspective; and g.) assessment and accreditation: Middle States and discipline-specific assessment.

Participants have been learning from and connecting with each other over the past 7 months, connecting topics and principles across trends in higher education. Lessons each month connect back to the original program opening session where President Bryon Grigsby of Moravian College and President John Simon of Lehigh University both offered keynote addresses regarding industry movements and the value of a private liberal arts education on the cusp of changes in technology and the shifting job market.

The remaining sessions will continue to explore these ideas while continuously improving the program using on-going feedback from participants. In the meantime, the LVAIC staff has been planning the second year of the program and incorporating changes from the mid-year assessment of the institute. Those interested in learning more can visit the Leadership Institute page of the LVAIC website.