Leadership Strategies for Deans, Department Heads, and Directors

Leading Academic Units provides academic leaders in these roles the opportunity to learn strategies for leading and supporting student success efforts within and beyond their academic units. Regardless of the initiative that each community member has been tasked with leading, during their year in this community, they will learn effective leadership techniques for ensuring that student success remains a priority for their academic units and that strategies they use are appropriate for their student population, institutional structure, and organizational culture.

Dates: To be announced.

Who Should Participate

Current or newly appointed leaders of academic units or cross‑unit academic efforts who primarily lead faculty and academic staff.
Roles might include:
  • Academic Deans (Assistant and Associate)
  • Department or Division Chairs (Assistant and Associate)
  • Directors of Schools or Academic Programs
  • Directors of Faculty Development or Faculty Advising
  • AVP or Director of Student Success with oversight of faculty

Teams of academic leaders from the same institution are encouraged to enroll together. Such groups may include fellow deans from the same institution or a combination of deans and chairs from the same institution.

Benefits of Participating

 
Academic leaders will learn how to lead transformational change around student success within their units by developing the following critical competencies:
 
  • Data-informed decision-making on success efforts
  • Cross-functional collaboration and coalition-building
  • Communication and culture change strategies
  • Alignment of priorities and resources to enable change

Join the Community

Registration opens November 1, 2026 and closes January 15, 2027!

Short-term investment towards lasting professional growth

Receive guidance, peer collaboration, and access to resources all designed to address the changing needs of institutional leadership. 

Key Features

Monthly virtual meetings with opportunities to network with and learn from peers in similar roles at other institutions.

January 20, 2027- September 15, 2027

  • January 20
  • February 17
  • March 24
  • April 21
  • May 19
  • June 16
  • July 21
  • August 18
  • September 15

Expert facilitators addressing timely strategies for leadership, student success, and change management.

Guidance and support as members implement or launch a student success initiative at their own institutions.

Fees:

$3,995

Teams of academic leaders from the same institution are encouraged to enroll together. Such groups may include fellow deans from the same institution or a combination of deans and chairs from the same institution.

Register as a team of 4 or more from the same institution and receive a 10% discount for all participants.

Updated: March 12, 2026