Faculty Leadership in Academia: From Inspiration to Reality is a program that helps faculty members prepare to advance their careers by taking on formal leadership roles.
Faculty Affairs in the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor provides this professional development opportunity for those considering a leadership role or are in their first leadership position and considering continuing on a leadership path. FLAIR is a cohort-based program that runs from January through December.
Programming includes a series of leadership workshops in the spring, a required summer reading project, and another series of workshops in the fall. Topics focus on leadership as it relates to the inspirations, realities and opportunities within and outside of academic administration. Big issues in higher education are covered, as well as practical discussions on diversity and inclusion, collaborating, managing conflict, and having difficult conversations. Participants will explore their Clifton Strengths and how they can approach leadership through their own strengths.
Participation is open to faculty with strong, untapped leadership potential who have the rank of associate or full professor (tenured, practice, research or extension). Participants must commit to attending all workshops, which will be held on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5 p.m., on Jan. 19, Feb. 2, Feb. 16, March 23, April 13, Aug. 31, Sept. 21, Oct. 12, Nov. 9, and Dec. 7. These workshops are currently planned to be in person.
Interested applicants should send a single .pdf file that includes, in this order, a cover sheet, current curriculum vitae and brief statement of interest to facultyaffairs@unl.edu by Nov. 17. Applicants should also request that a brief letter of support for their application be sent by their department chair to facultyaffairs@unl.edu by Nov. 17.
The cover sheet must include the applicant’s name and email address, department, name and email address of the applicant’s department chair, and a statement committing to attendance at all workshops. The statement of interest must include information about the applicant’s prior leadership and leadership development opportunities and experiences, the types of leadership positions to which the applicant aspires, and what the applicant hopes to gain from participation in FLAIR.
