For Dr. Roger Haro, associate dean in the College of Science and Health at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, traveling to the University of California, Berkeley in July wasn’t just an opportunity to return to the scenic bay area region where he was born and raised.
He had been thinking more about advancing up the ranks of higher education administration, and UC Berkeley’s Executive Leadership Academy sounded like a reputable program with an important emphasis on diversity and multiculturalism.
“It was transformational for me,” Haro says, reflecting on the five-day program. “Besides great speakers covering a wide array of issues of leadership in higher education, I gained a lot just interacting with my colleagues and the other fellows. Sharing experiences was empowering.
ELA is an extensive and intensive bootcamp-style gathering for higher ed faculty interested in — or viewed to be a good candidate for — advancing to provost, chancellor and president roles at colleges and universities. Information-rich sessions on attributes, skills and strategies essential for successfully navigating higher ed as a top administrator are coordinated to help fellows understand whether they want it, why they want it, how to get it and what it will be like when they get it.
This year’s gathering of 55 fellows was the largest cohort among the 11 since the academy debuted nearly a decade ago. Men and women from across the nation, primarily from underrepresented minority groups, were accepted into the exclusive program housed in UC Berkeley’s Center for Studies in Higher Education in the Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy.
The academy is designed to increase diversity in the highest echelons of campus leadership and to help campus administrations reflect the multiculturalism that increasingly characterizes the world, the nation and student populations. Fellows participate in upwards of 30 training and development sessions that run the gamut of what is needed to effectively lead an institution, from strategic planning, legislative issues and enrollment management to budgeting, financial resource management and developing an executive presence.
Haro says he particularly enjoyed small-group case studies that were part of some presentations, as well as sessions on philanthropy, the academic lexicon and conflict resolution that were “especially meaningful.”
