Starting this semester, four faculty members will get an up-close look at University administration, getting experience in upper-level management for future job opportunities.
The inaugural Leadership Fellows program was originally started by the Faculty Women’s Association, before being introduced University-wide by the Office for Developing Transformational Leaders.
An open call for applications was sent to all faculty. Out of 15 applicants, the field was whittled down to four after a series of interviews.
Those selected were assigned mentors from within the provost’s office and work on assignments and projects, and attend meetings with the goal of getting experience in University administration, said Joan Brett, associate vice provost.
“The idea is to give faculty who have leadership experience exposure to higher-level University leadership,” Brett said. “It also gives University administration a chance to see who might be interested and qualified as positions open up.”
This is the inaugural semester for the program, which started in January and will run all semester long, while the selected faculty will get a taste of the day-to-day activities of administration.
“By having this program, we give faculty a chance to try it out so they can see if they like it, and if they are good at it,” Brett said.
The program is beneficial because it gives faculty a sense of what to expect if they ever advance to become administrators, she said.
“We’re not just throwing faculty into this role,” Brett said. “It’s a chance to do a little more development and nurturing of what the challenges and expectations are.”
One of the selected faculty members is Rajiv Sinha, a professor of marketing at the W. P. Carey School of Business on the Tempe campus.
“It was a very pleasant surprise,” Sinha said. “I was quite happy to be selected, it was unexpected.”
Sinha said he applied for the program to experience new things in his career.
“It was just curiosity and interest — this is not an experience I have ever had because I am primarily involved in teaching and research,” he said.
His goal is to get a sense of what would be involved in an upper-level leadership position, Sinha said.
“When I’m done with all of this, I’ll have a good picture of what is involved in administration,” Sinha said.
Another selected faculty member is Elizabeth Wentz, an associate professor at the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at the Tempe campus.
“I’m not a full professor,” Wentz said. “I didn’t know what the competition was going to be like, so I was just very flattered to be selected.”
Wentz said she loves her current teaching job working with students, but wants to keep her future career options open, so the program was a good opportunity.
“It’s not just about what I can do for the University,” she said. “It’s also what the program can offer me, and I need to take advantage of that and learn something, as well.”
Reach the reporter at dana.sheaff@asu.edu
