With a retention rate nearing 80% and with Likert scores, where 5 is high, ranging between 4 and 5, the Academic Leadership Development Program (ALDP) is considered a highly successful program. As one may expect, behind this success there lay some wise decisions such as holding a comprehensive needs assessment and conducting ongoing rigorous program evaluations, which translate in continuous upgrades. The program is well balanced and modular, giving participants (heads of departments, directors of schools and associate deans) the most relevant information, access to senior administrators, networking opportunities and flexibility. What sets this program apart, however, and makes it a great model is the dedication of the program’s Planning Team.
During the summer 2006, the Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth (TAG), partnered with Human Resources to pilot the program. The two departments created the Academic Leadership Development Program to build leadership capacity at UBC, enhance the effectiveness and personal satisfaction of heads, directors and associate deans, and help articulate their roles and responsibilities. Other units had offered newly appointed heads programs such as workshops, mentoring, or one-on-one consultation and provided precious support on a number of occasions. The ALDP, however, is a yearly, multi-faceted program, that integrates a variety of elements to handle different ‘levels’ of academic leadership, from visioning and strategic planning to budget and financial matters; the program content is mostly practical and its preferred style of delivery primarily problem-based.
Participants are actively engaged through a series of half-day workshops in which they are exposed to all the various university resources available to them and asked to reflect on their roles, responsibilities and expectations around broader, leadership topics such as visioning, strategic planning, leading change and conflict resolutions and negotiations. Two-hour sessions offer the chance to work on specific issues related to more ‘day-to-day’ matters such as staff or faculty relations, or budget and finance. Lastly, one-on-one, optional coaching helps participants to determine and achieve their professional goals. Besides conducting a needs assessment before launching the program, we subject each component of the program to evaluation by means of feedback after each session, questionnaires and interviews for the purpose of improving the program.
The secret ingredient of this complex recipe is the people who created the program and dedicated numerous hours to revise, reconsider, and reshape each of its pieces. Members of the ALDP’s Planning Team include: Luisa Canuto, Faculty Associate, Lecturer, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology; Sharon Kahn, Academic Leadership Coach, Human Resources; Gary Poole, Associate Professor, School of Population and Public Health, and former Director of TAG; Dorothy Shaw, Senior Associate Dean, Faculty of Medicine; Julie Stockton, Director, Human Resources and Fran Watters, Director, Faculty Relations.
I’ll conclude this piece by singling out Gary Poole, who deserves a special award for outstanding leadership and humanity. Contagiously passionate about teaching and learning and highly intuitive, Gary has a rare ability to read the room, help people keep the focus and make connections to reinforce learning or better understand difficult issues. The ALDP could not have asked for a more generous, encouraging, trusting and fun-loving team member.
Find out more about the ALDP at:
https://ctlt.ubc.ca/programs/all-our-programs/academic-leaders-development-program-aldp/
www.aldp.ubc.ca