KU names senior administrative fellows for 2018-2019


LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas program with a commitment to developing potential in faculty has announced its newest cohort. The Senior Administrative Fellows Program, which began in 1993, cultivates the leadership skills and organizational know-how of tenured faculty through a yearlong exploration and mentoring curriculum.

Eleven KU faculty members have been selected to take part in the SAF Program for the 2018-2019 academic year.

“The Senior Administrative Fellows Program strives to open doors and peer into the world of leadership in higher education,” said J. Christopher Brown, vice provost for faculty development and a past senior administrative fellow. “For KU to continue as an innovator and leader in higher education and research, we need to offer our faculty members the tools, training and mentoring that can help them transform from a talented professor to a talented leader of people and programs. When we help faculty leaders realize their greater potential, they can unlock the potential in others.”

The Senior Administrative Fellows Program offers tenured faculty interested in leadership roles the opportunity to see the nuts and bolts of administrative activities and responsibilities. The program will be led by Brown with the assistance of Jenny Mehmedovic, executive associate for faculty development. In addition to learning more about major units of the university, fellows meet with KU’s senior leadership and take part in discussions surrounding academic leadership, public policy and the future of higher education.

The class of fellows is selected from applications solicited in the spring semester of the previous academic year.

“I’m very excited for this cohort of fellows,” Brown said. “We have individuals who are eager to learn and make the most of this opportunity and who will be able to share best practices from a variety of disciplines and experiences.”

This year’s participants:

Scott Hanrath, associate librarian and associate dean of research engagement for KU Libraries

Weizhang Huang, professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics

Bonnie Johnson, associate professor and acting director of the Urban Planning Program in the School of Public Affairs & Administration

Tracey LaPierre, associate professor and director of undergraduate studies for the Department of Sociology

Mahbub Rashid, professor of architecture and associate dean for research & graduate studies in the School of Architecture & Design

Kathryn Rhine, associate professor of anthropology

Tarun Sabarwal, associate professor, associate chair and director of graduate studies for the Department of Economics

Nina Vyatkina, professor and chair of the Department of Germanic Languages & Literatures 

Robert Ward, associate professor of molecular biosciences

Kim Warren, associate professor in the departments of History and Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies; and the Indigenous Studies Program

Jide Wintoki, associate professor of finance in the School of Business

The Senior Administrative Fellows Program has an established record of success. Many participants have gone on to lead programs at KU and elsewhere.

Past participants include Kim Wilcox, chancellor at the University of California, Riverside; Ann Cudd, provost at the University of Pittsburgh; Christopher Morphew, dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Education; Paul Atchley, senior associate vice president and dean of undergraduate studies at the University of South Florida; and Sara Rosen, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Georgia State University. Several current and former vice provosts, associate deans, interim deans and directors at KU have also participated in the program.

Fri, 09/07/2018

author

Jill Hummels

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Jill Hummels

Office of the Provost

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