UTSA's Advancing Next-Gen Faculty Leadership Fellow Program

Purpose

In order to achieve President Eighmy’s goals for UTSA to be an exemplar for strategic growth and innovative excellence, Academic Affairs is committed to developing excellence through fostering a climate of inclusive leadership. Although there is a program at UTSA to develop general leadership skills, faculty constitute only about 30% of this program’s participants and it is not targeted specifically to academic leadership. Therefore, this new faculty-oriented leadership development program is designed specifically to fill this gap by providing an intensive one-on-one training and development experience to promote the next generation of diverse faculty leaders.

This program is individually tailored to the specific needs of the selected Faculty Fellow, to gain knowledge of university operations in specific areas and advancing leadership skills towards program development, as well as more broadly, across our higher education sector. Through mentorship and shadowing, the Fellow will gain perspective, guidance and vision in relation to the administrative office(s) that they wish to serve with the ultimate goal of promoting inclusive leadership. The Faculty Fellow also will apply their new understanding of leadership principles to their current positions through work on specific projects.

Given UTSA’s leadership in promoting a multicultural academic community and the Provost’s goals in Academic Affairs to accelerate our strengths in this area, candidate fellows from underrepresented backgrounds are particularly encouraged to seek this leadership opportunity. The Next-Gen Faculty Leadership Fellow Program will be administered under the Senior Vice Provost of Academic Affairs.

Objectives

• To learn more about the academic organization, operations, and physical infrastructure
• To consider the skills and attributes of effective academic leaders, and the challenges and rewards of becoming an academic leader
• To consider current and future challenges and opportunities in higher education
• To recognize and implement the values of diversity, inclusion, self-awareness, and ethical leadership
• To meet and develop professional relationships with colleagues through on-campus activities

Outcomes

The overall outcome for this program will be to develop the next generation of university leaders. The Fellow’s outcomes will be the following:

• Acquire an understanding of contemporary issues in higher education in their historical and institutional context
• Engage in emerging topics related to instruction, student learning and innovation
• Advance faculty and their professional, scholarly, and personal development
• Consider the value of building and maintaining a diverse and inclusive university community
• Learn skills for assessing competing priorities and managing time
• Reflect on leadership values, styles, and skills and to consider the range of opportunities in higher education leadership, both formal and informal

Requirements

• Tenured faculty at the rank of associate or full professor, appointed in any department (associate must show evidence that they are making satisfactory progress toward promotion to professor) or all full-time, non-tenured faculty
• Employed as faculty at UTSA for at least three years

Process

Typically, the faculty will be appointed as a Fellow for one academic year. The Faculty Fellow will be expected to spend approximately 10 hours per week in residence in their unit, attending regular meetings of the unit, working with their mentor and completing a special project. In addition, the Faculty Fellow will receive funding to attend an external leadership conference during the appointment and one course buy-out.

Application

Nominations by deans and other senior administrators are welcome, as are self-nominations.

The application materials should include the following:

• A letter not to exceed two pages presenting evidence of interest in academic leadership, experience in academic governance or administration to date, experience working to advance inclusion of underrepresented minorities, and what the nominee hopes to accomplish with the support of the program
  • 500-word statement of what the applicant would be interested in leading as their special project and initial thoughts/ideas for the effort(s) and mentor. Innovative ideas for initiatives that will strengthen faculty are encouraged.
  • Up to 2 letters of recommendation (department chair, dean, center director, etc.). Each recommendation letter is limited to one page in length.
  • A current CV

Applications should be submitted by Feb. 1, 2019, for academic year 2019-20. Applications should be submitted electronically via this application form. Questions about this program can be directed to Heather Shipley, heather.shipley@utsa.edu .