Faculty selected as leadership interns

• Tweet
• 

Two faculty members have been selected to serve as administrative interns for the Institute for Academic Leadership Development.
Kirsten Fleming, associate mathematics professor, and Pamela Gates-Duffield, associate English professor, have been appointed to work in the College of Science and Technology and the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences, respectively.
Barbara Taylor, Faculty Personnel Services assistant director, said the Academic Leadership Development Institute was initiated by the Provost’s Office and is designed to provide experiences that will enhance the administrative credentials of the participant.
“The program provides an opportunity for faculty members to prepare for potential placement in senior academic positions in institutions of higher education,” she said.
Taylor said the participants will work with a senior academic administrator as assistants.
The responsibilities and duties of the participant usually include attending Board of Trustees meetings, developing a case study for discussion among the participants and establishing a plan of independent study and readings with the dean or vice president, she said.
Taylor said candidates for the position must be tenured faculty members or staff members with at least a master’s degree who have completed five years of full-time service at CMU.
“That person must have demonstrated a strong potential for future advancement into a senior academic leadership position and a commitment to advancing goals consistent with a community of learning,” she said.
Taylor said each year Provost Richard Davenport and the deans from each college select the participants based on their career goals and objectives, philosophy of administration and education and administrative promise.
Gary Shapiro, dean of the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences, said this is the first time that faculty members from his college have participated in the program.
He said Gates-Duffield will begin a one-year, full-time internship in his office beginning in mid-August.
“She will participate in discussions with me and the associate dean on all administrative areas, including budget and college-management issues,” Shapiro said.
“She also will work with faculty to develop two interdisciplinary freshmen courses, one in the humanities and the other in social and behavioral sciences, and to develop a college speaker series in social and behavioral sciences for 2001-2002,” Shapiro said.
He said that after the program, Gates-Duffield will gain effective leadership experience, which will benefit her in the long run.
Fleming said she will serve a two-year, half-time internship in the dean’s office beginning at the middle of the May, during which she will continue to teach.
“I have been teaching at CMU for about 10 years and this program is very interesting for me since I am able to do something different from teaching.
“My involvement during the internship will help me learn many new things going on across the campus and know more about the university,” she said.
Fleming said this unique experience will open the job opportunities for her in the future by pursuing a career in higher-education administration.