Overview
Now more than ever, it is a challenging environment in which to be a Provost or VP for Faculty Affairs. Hiring and retaining a diverse faculty body, combating issues of disengagement and faculty climate, constant leadership turnover at multiple levels, and the pressure to maintain competitive and relevant offerings in a compressed enrollment market are all challenges that academic leaders must navigate on a daily basis. In light of these challenges, Provosts and Faculty Affairs leaders—otherwise lone wolves on their campuses—are in greater need than ever of spaces where they can connect with peers across the nation, discuss common challenges, and exchange ideas.
Join us for an ongoing discussion series designed specifically for Provosts and Faculty Affairs leaders. Each month, we’ll convene a group of panelists to discuss important and complex issues that are shaping your work as an academic leader, such as:
- Rethinking promotion & tenure
- Fostering faculty engagement and belonging
- Developing academic leaders within your institution
- Academic program innovation
- Advancing your DEI mission in today’s climate
- Navigating academic restructuring
- Supporting career-track and mid-career faculty
- Expanding your institution’s research footprint
- Preventing and confronting academic bullying
Sessions will be added on an ongoing basis. Check back soon for more!
SESSION 1
Re-examining Pandemic-Era Assumptions in Faculty Life: A Discussion for Faculty Affairs & Academic Leaders
Recorded on September 20, 2023
Help faculty break free of pandemic-era patterns that no longer serve them or our institutions.
SESSION 2
Maintaining Relevance in an Era of Accelerating Change: A Leadership Conversation for Provosts
Recorded on September 27, 2023
What are the implications of leading as a Provost in this complex moment in higher education?
SESSION 3
Growing and Supporting Academic Staff: An Imperative for Today’s Academic Leaders
Recorded on October 17, 2023
Create an intentional culture where academic staff can grow and thrive.
SESSION 4
The Balancing Act of Succession Planning in the Academy: A Discussion for Faculty Affairs & Academic Leaders
Recorded on November 15, 2023
How are higher education institutions identifying and preparing our future leaders?
Overview
The quickly shifting landscape of higher education in recent years, as well as its potential future in years to come, requires that our institutions develop strong and capable leadership at all levels. Identifying and cultivating leaders with the requisite experience and skills that embody effective and inclusive leadership remains one of the most difficult but crucial challenges for today’s leaders to navigate.
In a climate where it’s all too easy to fall back on what’s comfortable and risk tolerance is low, it’s more important than ever to think critically about how leaders in higher education are developed—and who is developing them. Among these challenges and considerations, are how to:
- Approach succession planning in a way that both creates a pipeline for future Chair and Dean positions, and that also enables faculty to build skills to “lead from where they are.”
- Engage in succession planning in ways that motivate and retain, but don’t overpromise.
- Ensure you are preparing future leaders well by leveraging tools like training and sponsorship.
- Identify future leaders in an inclusive manner, without “comfortable cloning,” (automatically choosing leaders who look and sound like you).
Join us for this free session, where you’ll hear from our panelists: Neva Specht, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at Appalachian State University, and Sarah Zehr Gantz, Senior Assistant Vice President for Academic Initiatives and Policies at the University of Illinois System, as well as your peers in similar positions across the country. You will have a chance to learn and share with fellow attendees and will leave with an enhanced understanding of how leaders are thinking about these challenges at other institutions.
Who Should Attend
This session will be particularly valuable for academic leaders who support faculty leadership, formal or informal, as part of their role. Faculty affairs leaders, Deans, and Chairs especially will benefit.
Follow Through With Success Coaching
Have you ever gone to a training only to find that you came back with great ideas but no time, support, or skills needed to make the changes? At Academic Impressions, we not only offer trainings on topics that matter to you, we also offer a way for you to integrate what you learned into your on-the-ground work with Success Coaching.
Success Coaching is available to purchase and provides you with the guidance and accountability you need to bridge the training with your day-to-day work. You’ll receive:
Individualized matching with a coach, based on the training and your goals.
Three hour-long, individual success coaching sessions.
- A partnership with a coach with extensive experience in higher ed.
- Individualized support so you implement what you’ve learned.
- Provide accountability to bridge the gap between the training and on-the-ground work.
- A confidential space to debrief what you learned and think through next steps.
This program is suitable for and customizable to all experience levels.
Speakers
Neva Specht
Senior Vice Provost, Academic Affairs, Faculty Policies & Development, Appalachian State University
Neva J. Specht [Spake] currently serves as the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Policies and Development and Professor of History at Appalachian State University. In her position, she works on leadership development with department chairs, aspiring leaders, and deans; works as the liaison with the faculty senate; and serves as a point person for faculty personnel issues. Prior to her current position, she served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as Senior Associate Dean, Associate Dean, and Assistant Chair in the Department of History.
Sarah M. Zehr Gantz
Senior Assistant Vice President for Academic Initiatives & Policies, Office of the Executive Vice President/Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Illinois System
Sarah brings more than 20 years of experience in industry and academia, and in her current role, she works with the three universities in the University of Illinois system on common academic issues. Her success depends on relationship-building, collaboration, negotiation, and (occasionally) a gift for managing conflict. Sarah also serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she teaches the introductory course on higher education for graduate students as well as a graduate course on student affairs administration.
Questions About the Event?
Sarah Seigle Peatman
Director of Learning & Development,
Academic Impressions