The Mid-Level Leaders Institute is a year-long, cohort-based program for mid-level advancement professionals across the UNC System institutions. We kickoff in September in Raleigh to set a foundation for our time together. From here we will have six 90-minute virtual sessions between October and April. The institute concludes with an in-person capstone in May 2027, more details to come. Your virtual session topics will be announced soon! Calendar invitations and Zoom links will come directly from Yianna Kappas, Learning and Development Manager at Academic Impressions. Virtual Sessions: October 2026 – April 2027. All times Eastern Session Date Topic Session 1 October 8, 2026 | 9:00 am To be announced Session 2 November 12, 2026 | 9:00 am To be announced Session 3 December 10, 2026 | 9:00 am To be announced Session 4 February 2027 To be announced Session 5 March 2027 To be announced Session 6 April 2027 To be announced Capstone May 2027 To be announced
September 10, 2026 – Academic Affairs Leadership Academy Program Kick-Off 9:00am – 4:00pm (Breakfast and Lunch Provided) October 1, 2026 – The Anatomy of Trust Trust is at the heart of leadership; you cannot lead those who do not trust you. Covey says we move at the speed of trust—when trust is high, people give you the benefit of the doubt, they find your meaning, they are willing to take a chance. When trust is low, they challenge you every step of the way, they misinterpret you, they assume the worst. It’s our job as leaders to build and cultivate trust—both interpersonally and also among and between the team. In this session, we’ll explore the topic of trust building. Specifically, we’ll explore the following: November 5, 2026 – The Power of Delegation You will learn how to use delegation as a strategic leadership tool to empower your team, manage your own workload more effectively, and create a more sustainable leadership practice. By entrusting others with meaningful responsibilities, you can focus on advancing departmental goals, reduce burnout, and model trust in your faculty and staff. Ultimately, this approach strengthens the department and institution by fostering a culture of growth, innovation, and […]
This self-directed program gives you a dedicated space to focus on your role as a leader of an academic department. This program will help you develop a deeper sense of who you are as a leader, deliver and receive feedback in a professional way, manage conflict effectively, delegate with the intention of building leadership capacity across your faculty and staff, and design meetings that improve the quality of the experience for everyone in the room. How It Works This program is asynchronous and self-paced, designed to fit alongside your ALC meeting schedule. As a Boise State participant, you will gain access to: Each course pairs with a corresponding ALC session, so you can bring your reflections into conversation with colleagues across campus. Meeting Dates Below are the meeting dates where you’ll be discussing each topic.
Kick-Off Workshop – August 6-7, 2026 This workshop will take place in person beginning at 9am on August 6. September 18, 2026 – The Anatomy of Trust – Kristin Sosnowsky Trust is at the heart of leadership; you cannot lead those who do not trust you. Covey says we move at the speed of trust—when trust is high, people give you the benefit of the doubt, they find your meaning, they are willing to take a chance. When trust is low, they challenge you every step of the way, they misinterpret you, they assume the worst. It’s our job as leaders to build and cultivate trust—both interpersonally and also among and between the team. Post-session Reflection Activity: Write down one small step you’re willing to take this semester to delegate and trust more intentionally in your research group or lab. October 16, 2026 – The Secret to Great Feedback – Jane Cassidy Giving feedback to other faculty or staff in a way that is both direct and respectful is challenging—even for seasoned leaders—especially when the conversation is difficult. Most of us figure it out the hard way by fumbling, softening what we meant to say, or confusing the message. In […]
General description of the course
This course equips Department Chairs with practical tools to transform meetings from routine obligations into purposeful, productive experiences. You’ll learn to design intentional agendas, build psychological safety, and use facilitation strategies that ensure that all voices are heard. The course also introduces decision-making models and the Five Paths to Leadership® framework to help you adapt your approach to different team dynamics. You’ll leave with a reflective practice for continuously improving how you lead meetings that move their departments forward.
Session 1 — Foundations of Service Excellence Objectives: Establish shared understanding of service excellence; introduce university-specific context and expectations. Pre-work: Session 2 — Service Excellence Competencies & Skills Objectives:Build practical interpersonal skills to improve clarity, rapport, and trust. Pre-work: Session 3 — De-Escalating Difficult Situations Objectives:Prepare staff to handle complaints, difficult interactions, and high-pressure moments. Solidify learning and drive long-term behavioral change. Pre-work:
This course invites Department Chairs to use delegation as a strategic leadership tool to empower your team, manage your own workload more effectively, and create more sustainable leadership practices. By entrusting others with meaningful responsibilities, you can focus on advancing departmental goals, reducing burnout, and modeling trust for your faculty and staff. Ultimately, this approach strengthens the department and institution by fostering a culture of growth, innovation, and leadership development.
This course helps department Chairs understand why conflict is a normal and unavoidable part of academic leadership—especially given the tensions of leading peers, balancing faculty and administrative expectations, and working within resource constraints. The course walks you through the major types of conflict you are likely to encounter, including task, relationship, values-based, process, and status conflicts, so that you can respond with greater clarity and confidence. It also reframes conflict as a valuable source of information, teaching you to look beneath surface positions to uncover the interests and needs driving difficult situations. Through practical frameworks and reflection, you’ll build skills in diagnosing conflict by examining factors such as self-awareness, trust, communication style, and collaboration tendencies.
