Findings
Developing faculty leaders is an important priority for the Office of the Provost, and it has been a signature initiative for the Provost’s Advisory on Women’s Concerns (PACWC) for several years. The results of the 2016 COACHE survey indicated that Pitt ranks in the top third of our comparison cohort with respect to support for faculty in leadership roles and in our belief that the institution cultivates new faculty leaders.
Steps Taken
A number of schools around the University of Pittsburgh support faculty participation in leadership programs such as ELAM, ELATE, ACE, and other programs. In addition, some schools have developed in-house leadership programs for faculty who are emerging leaders.
The Office of the Provost has also taken a number of specific steps to support and encourage leadership development across the faculty. These include:
- Joining the ACC Academic Leaders Network (ALN) program. ALN is a new collaborative leadership program for faculty at ACC institutions designed to support leader development and hone managerial skills. A cohort of faculty from across the ACC will attend leadership development sessions at three different ACC institutions throughout the academic year, as well as participate in programming at their home institutions. The inaugural ALN is taking place during 2018–2019, and faculty will meet at Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Notre Dame. Five Pitt faculty are part of the inaugural cohort. Learn more about the ACC ALN program.
- Developing Executive Leadership Training (ELiTe), a Pitt program for department and division chairs, associate deans, and vice presidents. The program is a nine-month fellowship that includes mentoring and leadership training. ELiTe also includes project-based learning, with each team selecting a challenge as a project and meeting at least monthly to develop a solution or set of recommendations. The teams will present their projects and proposed solutions or recommendations to the appropriate members of the senior leadership team at the end of the academic year. ELiTe is being pilot tested during 2018–2019 with a small group of chairs and associate deans. We hope to fully implement ELiTe in 2019–2020. Learn more about the ELiTE program.
- Developing Institutional Mentoring Program Across a CommuniTy of Color (IMPACT). This new Pitt program is designed for faculty of color and emphasizes mentoring, networking, and community building. Throughout the academic year, a senior faculty member will meet with and mentor a small group of junior faculty, with programming and support offered by the Office of the Provost. The IMPACT mentors will be career mentors, not intended to replace any other mentoring that the junior faculty may receive through their departments or other sources. Deans and campus presidents will nominate faculty of color for the IMPACT program, which includes a welcoming kick-off event, monthly mentor-mentee meetings, and a closing reception. Learn more about the IMPACT program.
- Developing Women IN Academic Leadership (WIN-AL) for mid-career women faculty who are leaders or aspiring leaders at the University. This Pitt program will be held once per year at an off-site location for two days. The group will then continue to meet on a regular basis throughout the year. The program is designed for women as they face unique challenges in leadership roles. The ultimate goal is to provide women with the leadership skills necessary so that women can advance in academia and achieve more success in their careers. In order for WIN-AL to be most impactful, only 20 women will be selected. Learn more about the WIN-AL program.