Kansas State University

Memorandum: 2014 leadership, management institutes

Submitted by Gail Zeak

The office of the provost invites applications of faculty members or administrators to attend leadership/management development programs during either the summer of 2014 or the 2014-2015 academic year, depending on the program dates.

Limited funds are available, and the level of support provided by the office of the provost to a particular nominee will depend both on the number of nominees selected and any additional support that can be provided by the nominee’s unit or college. Sources of additional funding should be identified and included in the application and will need to be confirmed once a nominee has been selected. Fees for each program range from approximately $3,000-$6,000, not including travel.

Opportunities for 2014 are listed below. It should be noted that all of the following programs require that applicants be officially sponsored by K-State’s office of the provost.

1) Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration, Bryn Mawr College, July 6-19, 2014.

This program is designed for professional women in higher education, both faculty and staff, who wish to prepare themselves for further administrative responsibilities. The institute includes training in the following areas: finance and budgeting, management, information systems, governance, planning, formal and informal structures of academic institutions, and administrative problem solving through case studies.  Participants report that a peer network system is one valuable result of the institute.

2) HERS-New England Management Institute at Wellesley College, October 2014–March 2015.

This program is similar to the summer program at Bryn Mawr, but is scheduled over four weekends, one in each of the months of October, November, February and March. Additional information can be found online

3)  HERS Denver Summer Institute, July 20–Aug. 2, 2014.

The HERS Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration at the University of Denver has offered women faculty and administrators the opportunity to participate in a residential program with an intensive leadership and management curriculum to prepare them to be leaders in higher education. Additional information can be found online.

4)  Institute for Management and Leadership in Education, or MLE, Harvard University, June 15–27, 2014.

MLE is designed for skilled, experienced administrators — deans and directors, provosts and vice presidents — who will help their institutions adapt to a changing future. The program is designed to increase one’s capacity to lead and manage change; develop effective strategy; and evaluate the impact of new initiatives. Additional information can be found online.

5) Management Development Program, or MDP, Harvard University, June 1-13, 2014.

MDP is designed for deans, directors and other administrators who are good at leading their units — and who want to get even better. The program is designed to help participants gain useful ideas about critical management issues, including budgeting, human resource management, planning, and effective leadership. Additional information can be found online.

Please post this information and circulate it to members of your department/unit. We encourage both nominations and individual applications from all university units. If you have previously applied to attend one of these programs and wish to apply again this year, you will need to submit a new internal application. A copy of this memo and the selection criteria are available on the provost’s website. A list of past participants in these programs is available.

The deadline for submission of the applications to the provost’s office is Dec. 2, and should be submitted electronically in PDF format to Gail Zeak at gaill@k-state.edu.  A small, internal selection committee of faculty and administrators will review the applications and will recommend up to three finalists for the university to endorse for participation in these programs. The committee will consider such factors as the match of the applicant's position with the program selected; benefits for the applicant's professional development; longevity at K-State; and potential for return contributions to an individual’s unit and to Kansas State University. 

Applications for our internal selection process should contain the following information:

1. Vita
2. Cover letter describing professional objectives and a brief assessment of how participation in one of these institutes would help achieve those objectives.
3. Letter(s) of support from immediate supervisor and dean, where applicable.

Those selected as nominees by the university will be notified as soon as possible after the selection process is completed and will be provided with the formal application materials for the program they wish to attend. Submission of an application does not guarantee acceptance into any of the programs. Applicants will be notified by each program director as to whether they have been accepted to attend.