Business leadership program offers Pascha Gerni national perspective on universities
The role of managing university business functions has evolved significantly over the years as higher education institutions navigate fiscal changes while still attracting high-achieving students and talent. How do you learn to lead your team through these challenges and not only survive, but thrive?
For Pascha Gerni ’93, managing director of business and administration for the Office of the President, one answer is the Emerging Leaders Program offered by the National Association of College and University Business Officers. The program gives mid-level finance and business professionals from higher education institutions the leadership skills they need to progress in their career.
As a part of the program’s 2023-24 cohort, Gerni joined 72 other business officers in online and in-person sessions, completed pre- and intersession work, attended a conference, and met every other week with a smaller working group of other participants.
Gerni also participated in a 360-degree assessment from colleagues, who evaluated her working style. At the beginning of the program, she saw how their feedback compared against her own self-evaluation and used the gap between perceptions to inform her on how to develop her approach to leadership.
“The feedback can be hard to receive, but it informs you on how you can grow,” she said.
While the program teaches the fundamentals of leadership, much of this growth lies in soft skills: leading a team of different working styles, planning your career in a changing industry, and developing an elevator pitch.
It also gave Gerni the chance to see university operations from a macro-perspective and ways to contribute to an institution’s larger goals through day-to-day operations. Throughout the program, she heard and gained insight from government, community, university leaders – including those at Virginia Tech – as well as other participants.
The 73-member cohort represented a diverse range of universities and colleges from across the country. Gerni said she remains in contact with her smaller working group after the program ended and has gained a more comprehensive understanding about the higher education landscape through their conversations.
It’s an understanding that Gerni, who’s only the second participant selected from Virginia Tech, hopes others will challenge themselves to undertake.
“Continuing education is important to model, as someone working in higher ed,” she said. “And a program like this is motivational, introspective, and informs you on how you can really change.”
