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The Emerging Leader: The UF Academy
Overview
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The UF Academy is a program created for emerging leaders at our university. Designed for exempt employees up to and including the assistant director level as well as interested faculty members, the UF Academy prepares employees for higher-level responsibilities at the University of Florida.
Overview
Based on the successful Finance and Administration Academy, the UF Academy is now open to university-wide participation.
To participate, an employee must be an exempt employee with at least two years of supervisory or decision-making responsibility at the University of Florida and meet the additional criteria described below. Employees at the assistant director level and interested faculty members with fewer than two years at the university may apply to participate.
Applications for the 2008-09 class are no longer being accepted.
Nomination Process
- Eligible candidates apply by application, which includes a letter of interest and supporting documentation.
- Questions? Please contact the UF Academy Director: Dr. Bob Parks, HRS Assistant Director, at bob-parks@ufl.edu or (352) 392-4626.
Selection Committee
Kyle Cavanaugh, Senior Vice President for Administration
Teresa Dolan, Dean, College of Dentistry
Jodi Gentry, Director for Training and Organizational Development
Tom Harris, Associate Vice President, Health Affairs
Joe Joyce, Executive Associate Vice President - IFAS
Jamie Keith, Vice President and General Counsel
Ed Poppell, Vice President for Business Affairs
Expected Outcomes
- To develop future managers at the University of Florida by increasing participants' knowledge of our university as a whole
- Provide future leaders with skills and tools to more effectively manage and lead people
- Inspire participants and influence greater commitment and loyalty to UF
- Reinforce Human Resource Services’ mission to "retain and develop world-class faculty and staff"
The UF Academy is designed to prepare participants for higher-level responsibilities at the University of Florida. Participation, however, is not a guarantee of future promotional opportunities. Instead, this academy is a training and leadership tool.
Benefits to Participants
- An increased understanding of high-level issues that affect the University of Florida—managerial, legal, academic, community—as well as an increased understanding of the governance processes and systems in place on our campus
- A better appreciation of the relationship between administrative and academic units on campus. This will be enhanced by networking and teamwork experienced by the participants
- Opportunity to develop key leadership and managerial skills
The knowledge base acquired by participating in the academy, in turn, will help create more competitive applicants for managerial roles at UF and enhance their ability to assume leadership positions at the University of Florida.
Expectations of Participants
In general, participants must be:
- Goal-oriented
- Willing to assume responsibility for their own growth and development
- Actively engaged in seeking challenging assignments and greater responsibility
Participants will be responsible for:
- Attending all scheduled meetings—or making alternative scheduling arrangements when conflicts are unavoidable
- Actively participating in those meetings
- Completing assignments between meetings
Candidates for the UF Academy must meet the following criteria (at a minimum):
- Supervisory support
- Satisfactory performance reviews and attendance records
- Two years in a supervisory or decision-making role at the University of Florida*
- An exempt employee up to and including the assistant director level
* Employees at the assistant director level as well as faculty members may apply prior to having two years of experience at UF.
Up to 15 participants will be chosen each year. This year, the following have been selected to participate in the 2008-2009 UF Academy.
- Aigi Adesogan, Employee Relations Manager, Human Resource Services
- Kenneth Allen, Emergency Management Coordinator, Environmental Health and Safety
- Kathy Bergsma, UF Information Security Manager, Computing and Networking Services
- Hui Bian, Data Manager and Research Director, Addictive and Health Behaviors Research Institute
- Jacob Burks, Assistant Center Director, Oral Biology, Dentistry
- Steven Carrico, Chair, Acquisitions and Licensing Department, Smathers Library
- Lauren Dukes, Account Executive, WRUF, College of Journalism and Communications
- Dorothy (Dolly) Haertling, Coordinator, Retirement, Human Resources
- Andrea Huisden, Assistant Director, Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate, Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies
- James Lennon, Coordinator, Administrative Services, Chemistry
- Connie Nicklin, Assistant Director, Research/Service Programs, Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research
- Melissa Orth, Director, University Relations, Office of the VP for University Relations
- Tiffany Schmidt, Assistant Director, Research, Engineering Contracts and Grants
- Tracy Brown Wright, Director, Public Relations and Communications, College of Nursing
- Vernon Wright, Outreach Financial Aid Coordinator, Student Financial Affairs
How It Works
Participants will meet two to three times each month with various representatives from the University and Gainesville communities. Some meetings/activities will be the same for all participants. Other times, participants may choose from a list of sources based on their individual interests and scheduling needs.
Academy members will meet with the university president, UF vice presidents, and other key UF leaders. They will travel to Tallahassee to meet with key legislators. Part of the program includes self-development—both a “book club” to discuss relevant issues related to effective management—as well as an all day “Leadership Foundations” workshop. Job shadowing, observing key meetings, and other interactive activities round out the experience. UF Academy participation represents 2 to 3 meetings each month and an 8-16 hour monthly commitment depending upon what’s scheduled. Additionally, members of the participant group will be responsible for scheduling the identified meetings as part of their academy experience—to include coordinating among the group for acceptable dates, times, and locations. This responsibility typically will rotate among group members, with assistance from the Academy Director.
Participation in the Academy will last from October though June.
The Academy Director will provide general guidance/oversight for this group. Because adults benefit from having influence over what and how they learn, general parameters will be provided; however, participants will be able—and will be expected—to assert control over much of the experience.
Each participant's experience, therefore, will have some points of commonality to ensure the academy's goal is achieved. However, each individual's experience also will be unique to take into account the participant's professional development needs, personal interests, and aptitudes. To help build leadership, the academy will provide opportunities to demonstrate such.
2008-09 Program Dates
October 1, morning only
Kickoff (9-10:30am)
Emerson Alumni Hall, Presidents Ballroom
* business meetings to follow in Emerson classrooms (10:30am to Noon)
October 8, 9 to 10:30 a.m.
First Standing Meeting
Human Resources Building (903 West University Avenue), VP's Conference Room
October 21, 3 to 5 p.m.
Meeting with Sr. Vice President for Administration, Kyle Cavanaugh, 3 to 4 p.m.
Followed by a Standing Meeting, 4 to 5 p.m.
Human Resources Building (
October 31, 1 to 5 p.m.
Teamwork Activity, Low Ropes
Meeting dates from November through June will be set by the Academy participants. The typical monthly time commitment for participation in the UF Academy is 8 to 16 hours per month.
Questions? Please contact Dr. Bob Parks, HRS Assistant Director for Training and Organizational Development, at bob-parks@ufl.edu, (352) 392-4626.
What sets UF Training and Organizational Development’s approach apart?
There are multiple options for leadership training, on campus and around the country. The UF Academy, now entering its sixth year, does not intend to compete with those options. Instead, this effort intends to provide a UF-specific approach each year to up to 15 recognized “star” achievers who are “emerging leaders” at our institution. This approach, developed and coordinated by UF Training & Organizational Development, focuses on immersion in the university culture and exposure to its organizational structure.