Ten NIU faculty members have been selected to participate in this year’s Emerging Faculty Leaders Program, which aims to bolster leadership capacity across campus.
The effort is led by Alicia Schatteman, director of the Center for Nonprofit and NGO Studies, and Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs Chad McEvoy. The Provost’s Office first launched the initiative a year ago with a first cohort of 11 faculty members.
“Shared leadership and leadership development are important university goals,” McEvoy said. “The Emerging Faculty Leadership Program provides an opportunity for interested faculty to explore leadership opportunities on campus and to develop leadership skills so important in helping our departments and the university move forward.”
Schatteman said the program has already contributed to the leadership pipeline on campus.
“A number of our new participants applied this year based on recommendations from the previous cohort, so that signals that faculty are finding the program valuable,” she said. “What’s more, some of the faculty who participated last year have already moved into different types of leadership roles across the university.”
Past participants include M. Courtney Hughes, associate professor of public health, who was recently named NIU’s NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative; Melani Duffrin, a professor of Interdisciplinary Health Professions, who is in her second year of running the STARS Faculty Academy; and Sociology Professor Simón Weffer, who recently stepped into the role of director of diversity, equity and inclusion for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
“The robust conversations with participants and program and university leaders provide great insight,” Duffrin said. “The experience offers faculty an opportunity to learn about university systems and reflect on the importance of leadership at all levels in the institution.”
The Emerging Faculty Leaders Program delivers an intensive professional development experience to faculty who are ready to expand their capacity for leadership in higher education and who are committed to enhancing their contribution to the university.
Participants in the latest cohort, which will run the duration of the academic year, are as follows:
- Abdoulaye Diallo, associate professor, Rehabilitation Counseling, College of Health and Human Sciences.
- Eric Jones, associate professor, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
- Jessica Labatte, associate professor, School of Art and Design, College of Visual and Performing Arts.
- Anita Maddali, associate professor, College of Law.
- Charles Petersen, professor, Department of Operations Management and Information Systems, College of Business.
- Jim Ressler, associate professor, Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, College of Education.
- Alecia Santuzzi, professor, Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
- Ursula Sullivan, associate professor, Department of Marketing, College of Business.
- Jui-Chang Wang, professor, School of Music, College of Visual and Performing Arts.
- Bradley Wiles, associate professor, University Libraries.
NIU faculty members can and do serve in a wide range of leaderships roles, including as department chairs, center directors, principal investigators, search committee members, task force participants, professional organization leaders, university council members, faculty senators and expert sources in the news media.
“Leadership skills are highly sought after in today’s higher education landscape,” Schatteman said. “Faculty leadership development programs like this one can advance broader institutional goals such as leadership succession, faculty retention, building institutional culture, fostering innovation, and connecting faculty leaders to administrative leaders.”
Other leadership programs at NIU include the Provost’s Fellows program and MAC Academic Leadership Program, in its sixth year. Schatteman is serving as the 2022-23 Provost Fellow and previously participated in the MAC program. Its current NIU participants are Mark Frank, chair of the Department of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment; Yolanda King, associate dean for Academic Affairs and associate professor of law; Reinaldo Moraga, interim associate dean and associate professor in the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology; and Garry Sunter, chair of the Department of Biological Sciences.
The Emerging Faculty Leaders Program is modeled after its MAC counterpart. The cohort of 10 met for the first time earlier this month and will convene throughout the academic year. Participants commit up to six hours beyond each monthly meeting for assigned readings, projects and panel discussions.
Among the year’s topics of investigation and discussion:
- Identifying personal values.
- Exploring personal commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion.
- Exploring leadership interests at the unit, college and university levels.
- Examining the skills needed to attract philanthropic funds.
- Understanding and managing financial resources.
- Conflict resolution and consensus-building.
- The role of mentorship in academic leadership.
- Leadership skill development.
- Reviewing and assessing the differences between management and leadership.
- Building a strong people culture based on organizational values and unit needs.
- Aligning and enhancing a communications strategy.
- Harnessing the power of technology in decision-making.
Faculty who are interested in becoming part of the 2023-24 cohort should watch for a call for applications during the spring semester.
