27 Employees Selected for 2019-20 Academic Leadership Institute

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A total of 27 UA employees have been selected to participate in the 2019-20 Academic Leadership Institute, a yearlong program designed to build the capacity of current and future University leaders.

ALI is a partnership between the Office of the Provost and the Division of Human Resources, under the co-direction of Andrea Romero, vice provost for faculty affairs, and Helena Rodrigues, interim chief human resources officer and associate vice president for human resources.

The cohort is selected through a competitive application process, which looks at leadership potential, commitment to diversity and inclusion, and interest in enhancing the whole of the University community. More than 100 applicants are evaluated each year by the ALI advisory board.

The program consists of: six all-day immersive sessions focusing on topics such as discovering personal leadership styles, building diverse teams, complex problem-solving strategies and improving organizational effectiveness; three half-day sessions, focused on building engagement around upcoming strategic initiatives at the UA; and ongoing leadership coaching individualized for each participant, which will be provided by the Office of Leadership and Organizational Development.

The 2019-20 ALI program will be led by PatternShifts, a consulting company based in Austin, Texas. The company's three partners will facilitate the sessions. Their mission is to help UA develop transformational leaders by blending adult learning methodologies with the latest research in the neuroscience of leadership and experiential-based design theories.

"PatternShifts has a strong background in leadership development, and carefully tailored their content to create high-impact programming specifically designed to address UA leaders and their challenges," said Julie Forster, leadership advisor and senior organizational development consultant in the Office of Leadership and Organizational Development.

Incoming ALI fellow Mario Leon, a UA Police Department lieutenant, said he saw ALI as an opportunity to meet other campus leaders and promote UAPD's mission to serve the community.

"The collaborative setting of the program is ideal for information sharing, and there is a lot to learn from different professionals and their perspectives on leadership," Leon said. "The program will expand my knowledge of planning, problem solving and organizational effectiveness" as well as the unique aspects of working at a higher education institution.

Another fellow, Hao Helen Zhang, is a professor in the Department of Mathematics and the Statistics and Data Science Graduate Interdisciplinary Program. While she's gained leadership skills through colleagues and lessons in daily practice, she said the program will provide her with systematic leadership training and development.

"Through my participation in the program, I hope to improve my leadership capabilities and effectiveness and hence better serve the community and the university," she said.

She added that "women and minority leaders still face many challenges today, and I hope to learn how to cope with those unique challenges and build confidence from the program."

The 2019-20 fellows are:

Ilana Addis
Interim Head and Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Jeffrey Banister
Director and Associate Research Scientist at the Southwest Center
Associate Editor of the Journal of the Southwest
Associate Research Professor, School of Geography and Development

Carine Bourget
Director of Special Projects and Professor in the Department of French and Italian
Professor, School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies
Acting Director of the School of International Languages, Literatures and Cultures

Miguel Delgado
Assistant Director of Insurance Programs, Risk Management Services

Kyle DiRoberto
Assistant Professor and Program Director of English, UA South

Jeremy Elliott-Engel
Associate Director of the 4-H Youth Development Program, UA Cooperative Extension

Donald Falk
Professor, School of Natural Resources and the Environment

Octavio Fuentes
Assistant Dean of Finance and Administration, University Libraries

Heather Gaines
Associate General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel

Robert Harland
Professor, Vice Chair for Academic Affairs and Surgical Director of Solid Organ Transplantation, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine – Tucson

Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz
Associate Professor, Department of Basic Medical Sciences and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine – Phoenix

Leila Hudson
Associate Professor, School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies

James Hunt
Assistant Dean of Career and Academic Services, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Assistant Professor of Practice, Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences

Julie Katsel
Senior Director for Community and Local Government Relations, Government and Community Relations

Kristen Klotz
Director of the Office of Institutional Equity

Karen Kowalski
Associate Dean for Administration and Chief of Staff, James E. Rogers College of Law

Jennifer Lawrence
Manager of Business and Finance, Department of Neuroscience
Chair of the Appointed Professionals Advisory Council

Mario Leon
Lieutenant, UA Police Department

Guadalupe Inés Lozano
Director of the Center for University Education Scholarship
Director of External Relations and Evaluation, School of Mathematical Sciences
Associate Research Professor, Department of Mathematics

Allie Min Simpkins
Assistant Dean for Faculty Development and Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine – Tucson

Jeffrey Oliver
Data Science Specialist, Office of Digital Innovation and Stewardship, University Libraries

John Pollard
Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs, Honors College
Associate Professor of Practice, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Kimberly Sierra-Cajas
Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, College of Science
Director of the Arizona Science, Engineering and Math Scholars Program
Interim Director of the STEM Learning Center

Marcela Vásquez-León
Director of the Center for Latin American Studies
Associate Research Anthropologist
Associate Professor, School of Anthropology

Jiang Wu
Director of the Center for Buddhist Studies
Professor, Department of East Asian Studies

Hao Helen Zhang
Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics and Data Science Graduate Interdisciplinary Program

Karen Zimmermann
Assistant Director and Professor, School of Art