New Provost’s Leadership Development Program teaches faculty to lead where they are

Melody Warnick

27 Nov 2024

Dean Lu Liu talks to a faculty member over lunch. — Networking lunches with academic leaders are a regular feature of Leading in Place meetings. Lu Liu (at left), dean of the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design, chats with Leading in Place participant Tessema Mengistu, collegiate assistant professor of computer science in the College of Engineering. Photo by Christina Franusich for Virginia Tech.

Just because your business card doesn’t have the word “dean” on it doesn’t mean you’re not an academic leader.

That’s the premise behind Leading in Place, an eight-month leadership development program for academic faculty members introduced this fall by the Office of Faculty Affairs.

“You don't have to be the department head to develop leadership skills,” said Rachel Gabriele, associate vice provost for faculty affairs. “If you're in the classroom, you're a leader. If you're running a committee meeting, you're a leader. If you're mentoring someone, you're a leader.”

A goal to elevate leadership

When it became apparent last year that Faculty Affairs’ approach to leadership development was ripe for a rethink, Gabriele and Vice Provost Ron Fricker pulled together a working group of faculty and administrators. With research help from Program Assistant Sara Thompto, the group suggested ideas to revamp the office’s leadership development program:

Training teaching and research faculty who weren’t necessarily serving in formal leadership roles
Welcoming faculty members who hadn’t previously had formal leadership development training but were open to self-reflection and conversation
Cutting the cohort size to 22 to encourage trust and conversation
Empowering faculty members to lead in whatever role they found themselves in with a secondary goal of building a deep bench of faculty equipped to take on more formal leadership roles

Leading in Place is the inaugural offering of the newly minted Provost’s Leadership Development Program, an umbrella that will likely include other training programs for faculty leaders in the future. “There are lots of ways to be a leader in higher ed, and we need more intentional leadership, especially at this particular time in higher education when so much is changing,” said Jennifer Hart, professor and department chair in history and a member of the Leading in Place planning committee.

How Leading in Place works

Leading in Place spans the academic year with monthly half-day sessions that touch on topics both practical and deeply philosophical.

In August, facilitators from Academic Impressions led an energetic first session on leadership styles in which participants discussed the pros and cons of being relators, visionaries, critical thinkers, or warriors. In September, faculty members made lists of their core leadership values and discussed emotional intelligence.

Starting with a highly self-reflective note was intentional, said Gabriele. “You have to figure out who you are before you start figuring out how you're working with others.” Upcoming sessions will expand the focus outward to cover interpersonal relationships, teams, and systems, with half-day workshops will delve into culture, team building, conflict management, difficult conversations, diverse and inclusive workplaces, ethical leadership and transparency, and self-care.

“This program offers a formal framework that can help faculty develop, not just as a leader or as an administrator, but also as a human being,” said Rajesh Bagchi, associate dean for research, graduate programs, and centers in the Pamplin College of Business, who served on the Leading in Place planning committee.

Making introductions

To demystify leadership and show faculty participants potential leadership opportunities at Virginia Tech, Leading in Place also brings in campus leaders for networking conversations.

Invited guests over the year will include University Distinguished Professors, college deans, institute directors, members of the Department Heads Executive Council, and Provost Cyril Clarke.

With Clarke’s imprimatur and input from Roseanne Foti, a professor of psychology who will be studying the program, the Provost Leadership Development Program will continue to expand, and Leading in Place will return with a second cohort in fall 2025.

Leading in Place members

Coy Allen, professor, biomedical sciences and pathobiology
Julia Basso, assistant professor, human nutrition, foods, and exercise
Ali R. Butt, professor, computer science
Helena Carvalho, associate professor, basic science education, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Danille Christensen, associate professor, religion and culture
Daniela Cimini, professor, biological sciences
Sherrie Clark-Deener, professor, large animal clinical sciences
Sherri Craig, assistant professor, English
Alan Ealy, professor, School of Animal Sciences
Corinne Guimont, associate director, publishing and digital scholarship, University Libraries
Victoria Lael, advanced instructor, human development and family science
Kimberly Loeffert, assistant professor, School of Performing Arts
Sharon Mastracci, professor, School of Public and International Affairs
Tessema Mengistu, collegiate assistant professor, computer science
Marc Michael, associate professor, geosciences
Dana Robertson, associate professor, School of Education
Hannah Scherer, associate professor, agricultural, leadership, and community education
Kendra Sewall, associate professor, biological sciences
Mohammed Seyam, college assistant professor, computer science
James Spotila, professor, geosciences
Jessica Taylor, assistant professor, history
Matthew Wisnioski, associate professor, science, technology, and society