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OVERVIEW

The New Leadership Academy (NLA) Fellows Program changes the expectations that surround leaders, leadership, and leadership development across higher education. The learning strategies informing the fellowship experience are premised on a recognition that the demographic, democratic, and discursive foundations on which modern higher education has been built are changing. Through several integrated programs and activities, which will include participation in a four-day summer institute held in Ann Arbor, the yearlong fellowship experience will focus attention on what leaders do when they are in positions to influence events inside and surrounding their institutions.

The NLA Fellows Program, our most comprehensive program, challenges selected participants to accept greater accountability for their own leadership choices, the influence they have on those they lead, the success of their institutions, and the integrity of the system of higher education. Upon completion of the yearlong experience, the NLA Fellows will acquire the following capacities:

A new and clearer understanding of current challenges surrounding American colleges and universities.
Sophistication in re-envisioning values and institutional imperatives that translate into dynamic, focus-driven organizations.
Proficiency at managing change and effecting mobilization within and outside institutions.
Acquisition of specialized knowledge and tools necessary to provide highly effective leadership within complex institutional settings.
Recognition of the challenges inherent in meeting the responsibilities associated with equity, diversity, and inclusion as overarching concerns in U.S. colleges and universities.
High level of commitment to the shared goals of the system of higher education and the profession.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

The NLA curriculum and learning strategies draw upon traditional leadership theory and recent scholarship that investigates the roles of leaders under highly contested and complex conditions. This pedagogical approach will empower institutional leaders with the knowledge, tools, and courage needed to lead effectively on their campuses and across the system of higher education.

The yearlong NLA experience is organized around a series of core competencies. Fellows should be prepared to view themselves as co-constructors of their own learning as it will be the experiences, perspectives, and insights of the fellows that ultimately inform and enhance the overall experience. The three major convenings— the Orientation Retreat from March 9-11, 2017; the Mid-Year Retreat from June 13-16, 2017; and the Closing Retreat from March 10-12, 2018—will mark milestones in the yearlong experience. Each session will:

Offer new evidence drawn from contemporary issues and provide opportunities for candid discussions among the fellows, advisors, coaches, and scholars; and
Introduce the cohort of fellows to successful leaders who can share lessons from their own experiences in dramatically changing their organizations.

Between retreats, the NLA Fellows will work through a series of online learning modules that address contemporary issues and concerns in higher education. The virtual experience component of the NLA program is enhanced through interviews with leaders, scholars, and policy makers who are working to address some of the issues and concerns that will be highlighted throughout the program. The fellows will also be asked to embark on a series of team exercises that will challenge them to apply the knowledge and skills gained through the fellowship experience and share their findings and conclusions with both their peers and other current and emerging leaders in the field. Both the residential sessions and the online collaborations have been tested with a range of previous participants achieving high receptivity and significant learning outcomes.

Welcome to the NLA Fellows Program and we look forward to the shared experience.