September 2, 2009

UCSF to Offer Fourth Year of Faculty Leadership Collaborative

The Chancellor’s Council on Faculty Life (CCFL) invites faculty to sign up for the UCSF Faculty Leadership Collaborative, a training program that fosters professional development and career advancement.

The Faculty Leadership Collaborative was created in response to a campuswide survey that identified a need for more opportunities to support and advance faculty careers. Funded by CCFL, the program will again be led by the Coro Center for Civic Leadership, a nationally recognized leadership training organization.

“We strongly encourage the participation of individuals who are interested in helping to define the future of UCSF at a departmental or school level, or, more broadly, through Academic Senate and campuswide activities,” says Vice Provost Sally Marshall, PhD. “This program is an excellent opportunity for UCSF to develop and retain talented faculty.”

The faculty leadership program runs for 10 sessions from January through May 2010. It will be available for up to 16 faculty members. Applications and program information are posted on the Academic Affairs website. The application deadline is Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009 at 5 p.m.

Faculty members at all stages of their careers who are appointed at greater than 50 percent effort are encouraged to apply. For more information about the program, the application process, or a list of the 94 past participants, visit the Academic Affairs website.

The program requires a substantial commitment of time (up to 75 hours) over 10 sessions, and participants must commit to attending 100 percent of the sessions. There is no cost to participants or their departments.

Most participants and their department chairs have expressed enthusiasm for opportunities offered by the Leadership Collaborative. Participants have particularly appreciated the chance to form strong bonds with faculty from other schools, disciplines and ranks – people with whom they otherwise would never have met. Participants also appreciate the time away from the lab, clinic or office to reflect on their careers and future directions. Comments from past participants include:

UCSF faculty will once again be able to learn leadership skills as this group did last year as participants in the UCSF Faculty Leadership Collaborative.

“[I am] much more confident in handling difficult leadership issues and campus politics generally. Also, [I] now have this incredibly valuable network of Coro-istas around campus (both from my own cohort and others) with whom I can consult, learn from, etc.”

“My research team has grown dramatically since my participation in Coro and I definitely draw on the skills I learned for running team meetings, supporting others’ strengths; also with dealing with the press; handling negotiations; handling interactions in committee service I have taken on, again since the Coro experience.”

Since completing the program, prior participants have been offered significant leadership opportunities in their departments, schools and/or at the campus level. In addition, special activities are planned for graduates of the program.

The faculty training program is one way that UCSF is promoting a supportive work environment, among seven major directions outlined in the UCSF Strategic Plan. That plan, released in June 2007, specifically calls on the University to “ensure that professional development and career advancement opportunities are transparent and available to all” and to “groom and promote the next generation of UCSF leadership.”

For more information about the spring 2010 UCSF Faculty Leadership Collaborative, please contact Melanie Fisch, program coordinator, at 415/514-0421.

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