Faculty and Staff Success

October 15

11 a.m.

Owning Your Role: Navigating Difficult Dilemmas Facing Academic Leaders (Provost Panel) - Presentation Link

11 am – 12 noon: Panel Discussion
12:15 – 1 pm: Q&A during a “lunch & learn”

MU – Latha Ramchand

UMKC -  Jennifer Lundgren

S&T – Stephen Roberts

UMSL – Marie Mora

1 p.m.

Breakout Sessions (Choose One)

Difficult Conversations: Accountability, Candor and Understanding - Presentation Link

As leaders, we often encounter situations where it is necessary to have uncomfortable or otherwise challenging conversations with those we lead, and sometimes those that lead us. It is critical to the success of our units and universities to address these problems quickly and fairly as they arise. In this panel discussion we will talk about how to navigate these conversations to achieve the underlying goal(s). We will present some tips and strategies as a precursor for discussion with the audience.

Presenters:

• David Borrok     
• Kwame Awuah-Offei    
• Susan Murray

An Update on Our Finances and Budget - Presentation Link

As a result of the public health crisis, the UM System and its four universities have been engaged in meaningful discussions about the University’s finances, priorities, and overall direction as new and existing budgetary pressures emerge or are amplified. In this session, the UM System finance team will provide an update on the current status of those conversations and what academic leaders need to know.

Presenter:

• Eric Vogelweid

3 p.m.

Breakout Sessions (Choose One)

Upholding Standards in a Pandemic: Thoughts and Discussion - Presentation Link

The difficult conversations that sometimes need to be held to ensure that our University standards are maintained become even more difficult during a pandemic. Couple this with the different ways that faculty conduct can be problematic in a highly dynamic environment, and it's clear that we're all struggling to adapt. This brief presentation will focus on how faculty conduct has gotten harder (and, in some cases, just different) to handle during a pandemic, and then will shift to a mediated discussion for the audience.

Presenter:

• Gerald Wyckoff

Supporting Faculty with Kids as They Attempt Work/Life Balance During COVID-19

Work/life balance is a challenge for many academics, particularly those who are parents, and usually even more so for women/mothers. There is a lot of data on why this is the case. As with many things, COVID-19 has amplified these challenges. In this session, we’ll talk about how to support faculty who are struggling to balance child care/schooling at home with maintaining productivity, while also being asked to teach in new or multiple formats. Please come with ideas as well as questions; we’ll brainstorm together.

Presenter:

• Enid Schatz

October 16

9 a.m.

Breakout Sessions (Choose One)

When the World Turns Upside Down: Strategies for Resilience

Some days we enjoy the bliss of working in higher education, other days we hold on by our finger tips and hope we make it. No matter where you are today, this session will provide a space to care for one another, consider ideas to enhance well-being and bounce back during challenging times. Come prepared to participate in a discussion about barriers to well-being and creative strategies for thriving. 

Presenter:

• Christy Hutton

What We Know About COVID-19 Now - Presentation Link

Dr. John Middleton will give a practical overview of the COVID situation including the origins of the disease, its transmission, and approaches to health and safety.

Presenter:

• John Middleton

11 a.m.

Breakout Sessions (Choose One)

A Leader’s Biggest Challenge: Dealing with Difficult People - Presentation Link

In a perfect world, there would be no "difficult" people, but many of us frequently face challenging people. In her book "Five Truths for Thinking about Difficult People," Kris Palchy suggests that trying to change other people is an exercise in futility. We will review and reflect on her invitation to try five different ways of thinking about people we find challenging. This session will include reflection questions for you to consider if you could benefit from changing your perspective.

Presenter:

• Susan Murray

Towards an Inclusive Culture for Campus Leaders

This summer led to many meaningful conversations, both nationwide and at our universities, about what it means and how to create an inclusive culture. In this session, Dr. Stephanie Shonekan will provide academic leaders with thoughtful ways to leverage their positions in the University to create a more inclusive and equitable atmosphere in their respective units.

Presenter:

• Stephanie Shonekan

With the pandemic ongoing, we continue our efforts not only to function, but also to endure and cope with professional and personal challenges. In this session, Patti J. Fleck, PhD, Director of S&T’s Counseling Services, will present information about burnout, discuss strategies to minimize its potential impact, and encourage participants to identify specific actions they can implement.

Presenter:

Patti Fleck

This summer led to many meaningful conversations, both nationwide and at our universities, about what it means and how to create an inclusive culture. In this session, Jeni Hart will share insights gained from her research and collaborations on diversity and inclusion audits that will empower our leaders to take a closer look at their work environments for signs of and barriers to inclusion.

Presenter:

Jeni Hart

What We Know About COVID-19 Now

Presentation materials can be made available upon request.

Due to a large volume of interest at the October ALD conference, Dr. John Middleton will give a practical overview of the COVID situation following the Thanksgiving break, including the origins of the disease, its transmission, and approaches to health and safety.

Presenter:

John Middleton

Building and Protecting Your Energy - Presentation Link

A common theme we are hearing from leaders right now is “we are just drained.” We hear you, and in response we are offering a session on building and protecting your energy. This session will draw upon themes from the Strengthscope framework but participants need not have taken the Strengthscope assessment in order to engage in and benefit from the session. The session will provide participants the chance to:

• Identify personal energizers and drainers, recognizing that competencies and energizers do not always align
• Consider which energizers and drainers are being tapped into in their work and to what degree
• Learn about the various options for responding to tasks that involve drainers
• Pinpoint ways that energizers can be incorporated into things they’re already doing
• Look back on the past semester and/or year to consider which energizers and drainers were most salient perhaps in new ways
• Look forward to the new semester and/or new year to consider how being equipped with this knowledge and understanding of energizers and drainers can help us build and protect our energy.
   

Presenters:

Mackenzie Moorefield, Lauren Reedy, and Jill Wood

10 a.m. 

and

2 p.m.

Finance & Budget Update - Presentation Link

Due to the high level of interest in this session, we will be combining with staff leaders and offering this session twice. The morning option will be from 10 – 11am CT and the afternoon option from 2-3pm CT.

In this session, rated as one of the top sessions at Academic Leadership Conference in October, the UM System finance team will provide an update on what leaders need to know about the current status of the University’s finances, priorities, and overall direction as new and existing budgetary pressures emerge or are amplified.
 
Presenter:
 
Eric Vogelweid

What Messages Are Being Communicated about Diversity and Inclusion: Part 2 of An Organizational Analysis with Jeni Hart

Initial Organizational Assessment

Organizational Analysis: What Messages are Being Sent About Inclusion
 
This summer led to many meaningful conversations, both nationwide and at our universities, about what it means and how to create an inclusive culture. In this session, Jeni Hart will share insights gained from her research and collaborations on diversity and inclusion audits that will empower our leaders to take a closer look at their work environments for signs of and barriers to inclusion.
 

This career planning session, presented by Lisa Hanasono, focusses on “what’s next” in your career, particularly after achieving tenure, and highlights the importance of strong networks and mentoring relationships in getting you where you want to go next. For those of you from MU, we recognize that this session overlaps slightly with the MU IDE Virtual Discussion. We also strongly encourage leaders to attend that session, so if you would like to jump off this session a little early in order to make it to that on time, know that we support you and you will only miss the Q&A portion of this session if you do so.
 

This session, also presented by Lisa Hanasono, will be open to both faculty and staff leaders. This session promotes a wholistic approach to mentoring and focusses on strategies and best practices for leaders seeking to create a culture of mentoring on their teams.