UPCEA Emerging Leader Program Pre-Conference: Identifying and Leveraging Strengths for Leadership Excellence in Professional, Continuing, and Online Higher Education

Participants of this pre-conference workshop will have an opportunity to explore their leadership strengths and ways of leveraging these strengths within the context of professional, continuing, and online higher education. Dr. Ralph Gigliotti, Director of Leadership Development and Research from the Rutgers University Center for Organizational Leadership, will lead the group in an interactive facilitation of the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment, and participants will discuss ways of applying their unique strengths to address the current needs of their unit, department, or institution. The session will conclude with an overview of recommended strategies for enhancing these strengths as individuals consider future leadership roles within higher education.

Emerging Leaders Regional Program Pre-Conference Facilitator:

• Ralph A. Gigliotti, Ph.D., Rutgers University
  

Dr. Gigliotti is Director of Leadership Development and Research in the Rutgers University Center Organizational Leadership, where he oversees a number of faculty and staff leadership development initiatives and leads several research projects related to leadership and communication in higher education. He also serves as a part-time lecturer in the Department of Communication and an associate faculty member in the Ph.D. Program in Higher Education at Rutgers. Ralph’s research interests explore the intersection of organizational communication, leadership, and crisis communication, particularly in the context of higher education. His research appears in numerous books and journals, including the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, Journal of Leadership Education, and Atlantic Journal of Communication. Ralph is also the co-author of A Guide for Leaders in Higher Education: Core Concepts, Competencies, and Tools (Stylus Publishing, 2017) and Leadership: The Dynamics of Communication and Social Influence in Personal and Professional Settings (Kendall Hunt Publishing).

Reengaging Former Students: A Statewide Approach
Track: Community and Economic Engagement
Adult learners who began but never completed a degree or credential can benefit greatly from finishing their education and improve the quality of our workforce, but often do not have the information or support to do so. Learn how Washington State is working to change this via a cohesive Adult Reengagement Framework that includes components such as an interactive web-based tool, a microgrant to cover small dollar pre-enrollment barriers, and engaging institutional and industry partners.

• Saralyn Smith, Pacific Lutheran University
• Gray Sterling, Washington Student Achievement Council

Strategy in a "Catch All" Department
Track: Business & Operations
Sometimes extended learning units can be used for the dumping ground for non-traditional and/or programs that just didn't fit anywhere. Sound familiar? Come learn how they went from being the "catch all" to a thriving, well-respected business unit. in the process, you will gain some strategy and it will probably feel like a good therapy session for all of us CE professionals.

• Meni Sarris, Story+Structure
  
• Sarah Spicci, National University
  
• Roxanne Kymaani, National University
  
• Joe Miera, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Professional Development Through Exploring Power, Privilege, and Empathy

The Office of Engagement at the University of Utah works to build a cohesive, continuous, and accessible pipeline of K-16 programs, engaging K-16 students and their families. However, it is not simply enough to provide services to the community but it’s also important to develop leadership, collaboration, communication and interpersonal relationships with our engagement and access providers. In this workshop, participants will learn ways to have a constructive and meaningful dialog around privilege, diversity, leading from a limited position of power, empathy, and many others. This will be an active workshop in which attendees will participate in activities around growing from conflict, privilege, and reflection on their work.

• Nicole Batt, University of Utah
• Rachel Everitt, University of Utah

Boise State Passport to Education: Integrating 21st Century Degree Pathways with a 21st Century Partnership and Tuition Model
Track: Marketing, Enrollment, and Student Services
Boise State University's Passport to Education is an exclusive offer that connects corporate and community partners–such as our inaugural partner, CapEd Credit Union–to affordable, accessible, high-quality online degrees from Boise State University. We have developed a subscription-based tuition model that reduces the overall cost of the degree and potential student debt while offering the same high-quality education that all students enjoy at Boise State.

• Peter Risse, Boise State University
• Rebecca Morgan, Boise State University
• Jon Schneider, Boise State University

Participants will be guided in this opportunity to reflect upon their experiences and invited to consider next steps, including opting-into a future cohort of peers, earning a credential (badge) recognizing this experience, and to learning about future volunteer leadership opportunities within UPCEA.

Emerging Leaders Regional Program Capstone Facilitators:

• Amy Claire Heitzman, Ph.D., UPCEA
  

Dr. Heitzman is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Learning Officer for UPCEA. With degrees in art history from the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago, Amy began her career in museum education, developing programs and training museum educators at various university art museums, as well as the Art Institute of Chicago and the Dallas Museum of Art. In 2002, after having served as Education Director for the Meadows Museum on the campus of Southern Methodist University, her interest in adult learners led her to the directorship of SMU’s Continuing Education unit. As Executive Director of Continuing and Professional Education, Amy directed a new strategic vision for the unit, effectively doubling the number of programs offered and students served, increasing the university’s capacity to more deeply engage with its community. While at SMU, Amy served in various leadership roles including board membership in the SMU Staff Association and the Hegi Family Career Center as well as an appointed member for the Presidential Council for Community Engagement and the Faculty and Staff Committee of the Second Century Capital Campaign. It was during her time at SMU that she earned graduate certificates in marketing and nonprofit leadership, as well as the M.Ed. Amy earned her doctorate in Higher Education Administration at The University of Texas at Austin in 2014, and her dissertation focused on female student veterans in higher education. Amy writes and presents on examinations of nontraditional learners, the experiences of student veterans—particularly those of female student veterans, as well as comparative studies of international higher education systems. Amy has been active with various professional organizations throughout her career, including the Executive Committee of the UPCEA Board of Directors; serving as a member of the InsideTrack National Advisory Board, the George W. Bush Institute’s Military Service Institute Education and Training Task Force, and the Higher Education Advisory Group of the Credential Engine; and serving as a reviewer for the Chief Learning Officer LearningElite program, the Student Veterans of America National Conference, and the Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference.

• Shelly Wang, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Building Your Professional Profile

Your everyday job can be part of a bigger story. Learn about building your professional profile and actively shaping your career from those who’ve been there before. Hear about the key inflection points on their career paths, how to identify your own, and key steps you can take today to create the career opportunities you want for yourself, your teams, and your organization.

• Amy Heitzman, UPCEA
• Vance Peterson, AGB Search
• Joe Miera, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Kate White, California State University, East Bay
• Jenni Murphy, California State University, Sacramento
• Radhika Seshan, San Diego State University