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The Leadership Development Program is a one-year professional development program for staff, designed to prepare participants to pursue leadership positions in the administration of the College's academic departments. The program aims to develop academic department leaders who understand the university and manage its resources effectively. It educates participants and encourages them to develop leadership and management competencies which equip them for leadership roles. The program introduces aspiring professionals to the complexities of the UC system, helps them to gain an understanding of the Santa Barbara campus, and expands their understanding in competency areas required to manage resources at the academic department level. The curriculum is intended to augment, and not to replace, other training opportunities on campus.

Applications are no longer being accepted for 2009-10. Information about the 2010-11 program will be available in spring 2010.

The curriculum will include topics at the system-wide, campus, departmental, and individual levels:
  • The Master Plan for Higher Education
  • The Role of the Regents
  • Campus Organization
  • The Academic Enterprise and University Governance
  • Budgeting and Accounting
  • Research and Development
  • Campus Planning, Space, and Facilities
  • Information Technology
  • Student Affairs
  • Staff Supervision and Management
  • Team-Building
  • Conflict Management
  • Critical Thinking and Analysis
  • Risk-Taking
  • Decision-Making
  • Goal-Setting
  • Ethics and Integrity
  • Interpersonal Effectiveness
Presentations by academics, administrators, and professional trainers are interactive, intended to inform and engage participants. There are opportunities for hands-on problem solving in simulated situations. Typical sessions are two hours long, twice a month.

Participants need to commit four hours per month (during business hours) over a 10-month period (September through June) with occasional additional meetings. A time commitment outside of the meeting time also includes some recommended reading and efforts on a project that will be used to exercise the skills and competencies taught in the program.

The program consists of 10-15 participants, with a team of Leadership Development Program mentors who participate in sessions and provide support and feedback. Participants are individuals with leadership potential who have demonstrated a desire to enhance their careers and move into positions of greater responsibility; the group reflects diversity in age, gender, race and ethnicity, job responsibility, and department affiliation.

Please contact Michelle Keuper, College of Letters and Science, with any questions about the program.