Purpose

The major goal of the Aspiring Leaders Fellowship Program is to foster the development of leadership skills and abilities within the College community while supporting the College’s succession planning efforts. The program aims to increase the readiness of fellows for promotion and professional opportunities. The program provides fellows with a broad perspective of the College and the opportunity to interact and work collaboratively with colleagues from various departments. The program enhances each fellows’ capacity to contribute significantly to the work of the College while having a broader impact on student success, equity and completion. Participation in the program will further develop each fellow’s leadership competencies and will positively impact their professional and personal lives beyond their participation.

Benefits of Participation

The Aspiring Leaders Fellowship Program benefits participants in the following ways:

• to increase readiness for promotion to a higher level of leadership
• to identify leadership strengths and weaknesses 
• to create a plan to address any leadership weaknesses or gaps in experience
• to develop increased self-awareness as a leader, enhance communication and collaboration skills 
• to deepen understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion issues in higher education 
• to gain a deeper understanding of the College mission, vision, values, organizational structure and culture
• to increase knowledge of resource allocation, budgeting, facilities and technology planning
• to increase skills and abilities in the area of student success with a focus on access, retention and degree completion
• to increase knowledge of information and analytics and its role in decision-making
• to explore decision-making in the context of individual and institutional values 
• to understand the role of mobilizing stakeholders, fundraising and cultivating partnerships in higher education
• to work on a project of interest to the fellow and of benefit to the College community
• to be supported by a mentor with expertise in leadership and higher education

Who is Eligible

The program is open to all faculty, staff and administrators who have been working at the College for a minimum of a year, and are currently in a leadership role at the College with an intent to move into a progressively higher leadership position within the next 3-5 years.

Schedule

The Aspiring Leaders Fellowship Program starts on August 23, 2024, and runs through May 8, 2025. The first session is a full-day session (8:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.).  After the initial session, the program meets once a month during the fall and spring semesters on Friday mornings from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.  Certificates of completion will be awarded at the close of the program.