Category: Blog

How Rush University Established a Mentoring Program for Women Faculty that Can Serve as a Model for Other Universities

Susan Chubinskaya, PhDVice Provost for Faculty Affairs, Klaus Kuettner Professor for Osteoarthritis Research, Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Orthopedic Surgery, and Internal Medicine at Rush University Amarjit S. Virdi, PhDDirector of the Office of Rush Mentoring Programs, Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at Rush University The Challenge As a private, nonprofit healthcare institution offering certificate, undergraduate (very few), graduate degrees, and postgraduate training, Rush University (RU), an academic arm of Rush University Medical Center and Rush System for Health in Chicago, has almost 2000 faculty, and 52% are women. Since July 2006, we’ve been invested in developing systemic mentoring programs for our faculty, beginning with the Rush Research Mentoring Program (RRMP), which helps early career faculty develop and lead independent, extramurally funded translational research programs. Building on the framework of the RRMP, we’ve subsequently developed other mentoring programs, such as Rush Educational Mentoring Program (REMP), mentoring program for postdoctoral fellows through Rush Postdoctoral Society (RPDS), and, recently, our Rush Women Faculty Mentoring Program (RWMP). All these programs provide tremendous resources to faculty, offer continued education credits, and are optional, though participation in these programs is highly encouraged. Gender equity and diversity is one of […]

Do not waste your faculty’s time: How deans can help transform end-of-semester feedback into lasting, meaningful action

by Paaige K. Turner (opens in new tab)

“Will my students read these suggestions?” “Will they learn from and apply my feedback?” When I was a faculty member, the above questions nagged me and other colleagues as we spent hours grading final papers and projects. I carefully crafted feedback to identify strengths and offer suggestions, even linking to course readings and resources. I hoped students would reflect on my comments to replicate the positive or modify their behavior. But at the end of each semester, I watched the pile of graded work sit in a box. At first, it was a cardboard box outside my office. Today it has become a virtual box in a learning management system. Students saw the end of the semester as the end of their learning, and I began to wonder whether grading final projects was worth my time. Do your faculty feel the same about their administration? Are you letting faculty innovations “sit in a box?” This year, faculty implemented unprecedented innovations as they pivoted to deliver online or hybrid educational experiences while adjusting to dynamic CDC guidelines as well as mounting mental and physical health challenges. They rewrote syllabi, modified assignments, and built and rebuilt online modules. At the end of […]

Onboarding Isn’t what it Used to Be: Lessons from a Hiring Manager and New Staff Member at the University of California, San Diego

Michael Bumbry, Ph.D., Senior Director of Alumni Outreach and Engagement, UC San DiegoJennie Van Meter, Senior Director of Alumni Engagement Strategy, UC San Diego Like many industries, higher education too has had to reimagine work in light of the global pandemic. Our decisions will have a lasting impact on the way business is conducted. At the University of California at San Diego (UC San Diego), the department of alumni engagement hired and onboard professional staff during the early stages of the pandemic. One of us (Bumbry) started his employment remotely at UC San Diego in August 2020, while the other (Van Meter) is an alumna and long-time engagement officer at the institution who recruited, hired, and trained new staff remotely during the pandemic. Although the implications of COVID-19 and future of work are still uncertain, we would like offer our experiences, insights, and recommendations on recruiting, hiring, and onboarding new staff members during the pandemic and beyond, from both the candidate and recruiter perspective.Michael Bumbry: A whole new world: Applying for a job during a pandemic In mid-March 2020, the majority of institutions notified faculty and staff that they would be working remotely for an unknown amount of time due […]

How One Institution Launched a DEI Plan Without a DEI Office

Co-Written by:Kinsley McNulty, Program Coordinator of Student Life, New York Institute of TechnologyDiandra Macias, Program Coordinator of Student Life, New York Institute of TechnologySamantha Mon, Assistant Director of Career Services, New York Institute of TechnologyPaul Ferrante, Assistant Director of Student Life, New York Institute of Technology This past year, the global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement shed a bright light on continued inequities while spurring expectations of social justice and activism that define Gen Z. Young people are demanding accountability by police, government, corporate leaders, and educational institutions, including higher education. In 2018, New York Institute of Technology developed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force of staff, faculty, and students to assess and make recommendations to institutional policies, resources, and structures. In many ways, New York Tech is still new to ingraining the nuances into practice and our diverse community. Meanwhile, students voiced their experiences throughout the pandemic, showing a greater need for the student affairs division (Student Life, Career Services, Counseling and Wellness, Experiential Education) to prioritize DEI-centered programming and advocacy. We know our need is not insular— colleges across the country feel the need for DEI now. However, without a formal DEI office on […]

Ghostwriting for the President: 3 Techniques to Capture Their Voice

by Ryan DeBoef (opens in new tab)

“Let us never underestimate the power of a well-written letter.”– Jane Austen, Persuasion A decade ago, when I was getting started in the legal department at Missouri State University, one of our campuses became embroiled in a turf dispute with another educational institution. Stakeholders from both institutions met to explore collaborative options. The stakeholder meeting was wholly unsuccessful. In a last attempt to avoid an inevitable clash, our general counsel asked me to draft a message from our president to the other institution’s president (along with staff at the state department of higher education) advising them to stand down. Before drafting the letter, I met with the president and the other stakeholders who had attended the meeting. From their perspective, the offers made at the meeting were comically unreasonable. We felt disrespected and grossly undervalued. Based on those conversations, I decided the letter should be professional, but aggressive and decisive. I also decided the letter should be short and concise to convey our strength and confidence. I drafted a scathing letter, designed to evoke a negative reaction. The letter: No apologies. No sugarcoating. No counteroffer. No offers to meet again. I nervously delivered the letter to my president. He read […]

Professional Development as a Tool for Succession Planning: The Story of Colorado School of Mines Foundation

by Steven Kreidler (opens in new tab)

Also Contributing Editors:Rusty Brunner, Human Resources Manager, Colorado School of Mines Foundation Succession planning and robust professional development programs are not often associated with advancement shops in higher education. Some feel that with the high employee turnover rate in advancement, they cannot justify the financial investment. However, an alternative perspective is that professional development leads to increased employee performance and retention, making it a sound investment. At the Colorado School of Mines Foundation (CSMF), leadership values staff development and has implemented a scaffolded skills-based development plan. Supporting employees and creating long-term succession planning has been integrated into their culture. This fundamental belief in how leadership views employment has played a big part in creating a higher-than-average retention rate. During an interview with Rusty Brunner, Human Resources Manager and Steve Kreidler, Vice President of Administration/CFO from the Colorado School of Mines Foundation (CSMF), I learned about their vision and approach. A growth focused and skills-based model The professional development and succession plan, in its current form, began two years ago at the CSMF. It is more than a commitment to provide employees with an annual webcast or two; it is a fundamentally different way of approaching employment. It is a growth […]

What Becoming a Parent Taught Me About Assuming Leadership in a Time of Crisis

By Kayleigh MacPhersonExecutive Director, Scholarships and Student SupportUCLA Development Assuming leadership in a time of transition and tumult – parenting lessons that helped our team thrive during the pandemic. Returning to work from one’s first multi-month parental leave is challenging no matter the specific circumstances. Whether it is a crisis of identity, scheduling, responsibilities, time, or managing the onslaught of individual, familial, professional, and societal expectations, with parenting comes an additional literal and figurative load for nearly every aspect of our lives. Assuming a new leadership role in one’s profession can be similarly complex – like the adjustment to parenting, one becomes, at times, solely responsible for the actions of others. There may also be crises of identity, scheduling, responsibilities, time, and managing new expectations. After four months on parental leave, I returned to the office December 4, 2019, and things had changed. I had both a brand-new baby and a brand-new leadership role at my institution. I was thrilled to get back to work and hardly considered the impact my newfound parental feelings and experiences could have on my approach to leading a team. In times of uncertainty and transition, we are all tested, and history has shown us […]

Keys to Cultivating Emotional Intelligence as a Department Chair Part One: Awareness and Emotional Intelligence

by Peter Anderson, PhD, ACC (opens in new tab)

Academia’s leadership challenge is that almost none of us have been trained to manage people, much less other academics; almost none of us have significant, sustained leadership development opportunities; most academic chairs are happy to step back into faculty roles. Emotional Intelligence can help us be more effective and resilient, as leaders and as members of the department team. This article is the first in a series. Here at the outset, I’d like to define awareness (as a foundation for emotional intelligence) and then share a three-stage awareness-building exercise that—while it does entail considerable reflection and emotional work—can be done quickly, even amid all the pressures of a department chair’s week. When I’ve worked through this exercise with other chairs, it has helped develop self-awareness and awareness-of-others. Later, in the articles that follow, I’ll share further ideas and exercises that are intended to help chairs (and other academic leaders) to develop strategies for navigating the workplace in what is hopefully a healthier way—and to build greater resilience over time. “I’m aware of that…” I am a philologist. I say this without too much self-deprecation or, to be truthful, apology, but it is relevant here because – like all of our […]

Distributed Leadership as a Sustainable and Inclusive Leadership Approach

by Vickie S. Cook, Ph.D. (opens in new tab)

Introduction Distributed leadership is best defined as participatory leadership across an organization. In an organization which practices distributed leadership, both the responsibility and the accountability of leadership is embraced and shared by those who have the expertise and skills to move the institution forward. This is accomplished not singularly as a positional leader, but through a team of accountable leaders. The membership on the leader-team may change as others who hold the expertise needed to address specific situations occur. While it is unlikely that everyone will embrace the practice of distributed leadership, this should not impede the effort of leader-teams to introduce the practice into their institutions. What is distributed leadership and why is it effective? Distributed leadership is providing a culture in which leader-teams can generate solutions and initiatives that will be used to improve the organization and position it for future success. Effective educational leadership today depends upon the ability to lead change effectively and build trust to transform higher education organizations. Leader-teams who invest in building distributed leadership skills, practice development of buy-in with constituents across the organization and find inclusive approaches to working with a wide variety of individual will be rewarded by the outcomes. Distributed […]

A Year in Crisis: Lessons in Communication Learned as a Department Chair

by Brian Shook (opens in new tab)

Introduction We have just passed the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. While this experience may have provided opportunities for us to learn and grow, it has also taught us there are critical elements of our life and work where no substitute is sufficient. One of these elements is communication. The extreme safety measures of social distancing, lockdowns, quarantines, remote teaching, and working from home have made communicating with one another increasingly difficult and acutely essential. Let’s not forget, though, there has always been a need for academic leaders to improve communication—many of us have even read books and attended workshops dedicated to this topic. However, the current pandemic has magnified potential weak spots in our communication, providing the opportunity to develop new habits that will benefit those we lead. Allow me to share with you some lessons I have learned recently—some more painful than others—and how they can be applied right now, as well as in a post-pandemic world. Knowing Your Responsibilities Makes You a Better Communicator Being a department chair is the toughest job on campus, and the job does not get any easier during a pandemic. Students, faculty, and staff look to us for magical answers to […]

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