Welcome to CFE Leadership Connections for Chairs and Directors. As summer transitions into a new academic year, chairs and directors have an opportunity to establish priorities, strengthen relationships, and set the tone for the months ahead. The conversations you have, the expectations you communicate, and the support you provide during these early weeks often shape your unit's culture long after classes begin.
Through this monthly leadership brief, CFE hopes to be a partner in your work by sharing practical leadership ideas, connecting you with colleagues and campus resources, and highlighting opportunities that support both your leadership and the success of your faculty.
Academic Leadership Development Opportunities
Academic Leadership Development and Dialogues (formerly Academic Administrator Training) sessions begin in August. As the semester begins, we encourage you to invest in your own leadership development alongside the many ways you support faculty and students. These provide opportunities to learn with colleagues, exchange ideas, and explore practical approaches that can be adapted within your own department or school.
While you've already received the full schedule, here’s an overview of August sessions.
August 5 – New C/Ds Session (but open to all, lunch included), 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. (registration required)
August 6 – Professionalizing Your Role and Lunch with SVC He, 9:00 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. (registration required)
Cultivating Faculty and Staff Morale, 9:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M (no registration)
New C/Ds Session, (open to 1st and 2nd year C/Ds), 1:00 to 3:00 P.M. (no registration)
Leadership Insights
In his book written for academic chairs and directors, Ben Myers reminds us that effective chairs rarely succeed by trying to do everything. Instead, they identify a few priorities, build trusted relationships, and approach leadership as a practice that develops over time. To request a copy of Myers book, email me at cschaffer@unomaha.edu.
Leadership Practice
As you prepare for the semester, consider identifying the two or three priorities that will have the greatest positive impact on your unit this year. Sharing those priorities with faculty can help create clarity and establish a shared sense of purpose for the upcoming year.
Share with Your Faculty
Please share these opportunities with your faculty at your first meeting in the fall.
Review the CFE Events Calendar regularly and explore fall programming, including:
Coaching Collaborative (Personal/Professional and Gallup Coaching return, and new this year – Instructional and Leadership Coaching)
TANDEM is recruiting mentors. Those interested should complete the TANDEM mentor application. Full-time faculty in their 2nd or 3rd year have already been invited to complete the TANDEM mentee application. Encourage them to apply.
Looking Ahead
Next month, we'll explore how department culture is shaped through everyday leadership practices and introduce ideas for cultivating faculty and staff morale.
The Center for Faculty Excellence is proud to partner with chairs and directors to create environments where students, faculty, and staff succeed.
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