Introductory Track

Application Deadline: April 26, 2024

Through workshops and panel presentations, the Introductory track participants will engage with the skills and tools they need to face the challenges of academic leadership. In addition, participants will enter into a supportive community of new academic leaders through their cohort, which is capped at forty faculty per year. This track meets monthly throughout the academic year and culminates in a two-day retreat in May. It includes a $3,000 participatory stipend and a $2,500 travel stipend for attendance at a leadership conference.

Eligible Faculty:

• Currently teach in the humanities or humanistic social sciences.
• Want to learn more about campus leadership at the department, center, or committee level. 
• May be on or off the tenure line. For faculty on the tenure line, preference is given to those who have received tenure.
• Administrative or leadership experience is optional.

• September 20:   What is Academic Leadership? 
• October 11:        Helping Faculty Lead Through Collaborative Decision-Making 
• November 8:      Reinventing Meetings 
• December 6:       Attending to Positionality and Power 
• February 7:         Preventing and Resolving Conflict 
• March 7:              Storytelling for Change: Using Data and Budgets in your Unit
• April 11:               Building Community and Supporting your Faculty and Staff 
• May 9-10:            Offsite 2-day retreat | Centering Culture in Academic Leadership

*All meetings take place on Friday mornings from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and include lunch. Locations vary by month. 

Information for current program participants can be found here.

2023-24

• September 22:   What is Academic Leadership? | Amherst College
• October 20:        Helping Faculty Lead Through Collaborative Decision-Making | Amherst College
• November 17:    Designing and Running Meetings | Mt Holyoke College
• December 1:       Attending to Positionality and Power | Mt Holyoke College
• February 9:         Preventing and Resolving Conflict | UMass
• March 8:              Storytelling for Change: Using Data and Budgets in your Unit | Smith College
• April 5:                 Building Community and Supporting your Faculty and Staff | Hampshire College
• May 10-11:          Offsite 2-day retreat | Centering Culture in Academic Leadership

2022-23

• September 23:    Becoming an Academic Leader | Mt Holyoke College
• October 14:         Building Administrative & Leadership Skills | Amherst College
• November 4:       Recognizing the Whole Person | Hampshire College
• December 9:       Developing Advocacy and Transformation Goals | Virtual
• February 10:       Providing Faculty & Administrative Support | Virtual
• March 10:            Enhancing Interpersonal Skills & Setting the Climate in your Unit | UMass
• April 14:               Advancing DEI | Smith College
• May 12-13:          Offsite overnight retreat | UMass Amherst Center at Springfield 

Please contact Diana Marginean (dmarginean@fivecolleges.edu) with any questions.