Faculty Leadership in Academia: From Inspiration to Reality (FLAIR) is a program that helps faculty members prepare to advance their careers by assuming 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 who are in their first leadership position and considering continuing on a leadership path. FLAIR is a cohort-based program that will run during the 2022-23 academic year.
Programming includes a series of leadership workshops throughout the academic year, including participant-led workshops on a required group-reading project. 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 inclusive leadership, collaborative leadership, 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 with 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 Aug. 31, Sept. 28, Oct. 26, Nov. 16, Dec. 14, Jan. 25, Feb. 1, Feb. 22, March 22 and April 26. These workshops will be held in person on City Campus.
Interested applicants should send a single PDF file that includes (in this order) a cover sheet (see below), a brief statement of interest, and a current curriculum vitae to facultyaffairs@unl.edu by April 18. They should also request a brief letter of support for their application from their department chair, to be sent to facultyaffairs@unl.edu by April 18.
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 in-person 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.
