Toward Inclusive Leadership: Developing Women and Faculty and Staff of Color in Higher Education

• In Event: Interactive Roundtable Discussion Session

Short Description

The underrepresentation of women and minoritized faculty and staff among the ranks of leadership is a perennial issue in higher education. During this roundtable, participants will engage leaders and researchers in a discussion of a program designed to develop leadership competencies among a cohort of women and people of color. Participants will leave with ideas of how to replicate such a program on their campuses and address the gender imbalance in leadership.

Detailed Abstract

Significance
Presenters will discuss the IUPUI Next Generation 2.0 Program (“Next Gen 2.0”), designed to prepare both staff and faculty who are women and/or from minoritized groups, who are currently underrepresented in decision-making ranks, for positions of leadership and advancement. The program seeks to address historical inequities present in higher education by providing participants with the requisite knowledge, skill and practice to assume leadership positions. The presenters argue that such programs, designed as social justice interventions, are critical to altering the current landscape by challenging traditional models of leadership with one that actively promotes inclusive leadership. The presenters will provide a brief history of the program and its structure, as well as findings from ongoing assessment over a three year period.

Framework
The presenters will discuss how Next Gen 2.0 is unique in its focus on women and underrepresented individuals who hold positions as staff and faculty at the university. There exists limited literature related to creating professional development opportunities where faculty and staff are combined (Troller 2002). Of the few programs that exist, many do not offer consistent in-person professional development with the expressed interest of diversifying the leadership ranks in the same way as Next Gen 2.0.

While many higher education institutions are becoming more attentive to providing greater access to racially marginalized students and faculty, much less attention is placed on simultaneously increasing racial and ethnic diversity in administrative and staff decision-making positions (Jackson and O’Callaghan 2009; McCurtis, Jackson, & O’Callaghan 2009).

Women’s disproportionate underrepresentation in academic leadership positions can be attributed to a multifaceted list of obstacles and challenges that women face in the workplace from explicit sex discrimination to implicit biases (Diehl & Dzubinski 2016; White 2014).

Through the Next Gen 2.0 leadership program, women and underrepresented faculty and staff are given access to professional development and opportunities for connection, networking, skill development, and macro level perspectives of higher education.

The framework of the program is shaped by the following core components:
● self-assessment, reflection and growth
● professional development and career
planning
● knowledge acquisition and skills
building
● connection to local and national
thought leaders
● peer mentorship and networking
● project development and management
● program evaluation

Questions / Content
A goal of the program is to prepare participating faculty and staff to step into or create leadership opportunities within their units and schools.

The desired and actual outcomes of the Next Gen 2.0 program include the following:
● Advancement into leadership positions
● Development of a network through the
cohort-based experience, providing
post-completion advice, mentorship and
support
● Curriculum integration into current
work
● Sustained retention
● Participant solicitation of future
cohort members
● Sustained institutional investment

Design
The presenters will discuss the design and scope of the program. Next Gen 2.0 delivers a nine-month curriculum focused on a variety of topics, including: planning and leading change; negotiating and managing conflict; finances; self-assessment; mentorship; diversity; and organizational culture, among others. The program runs from September to May, with full-day sessions (9am-5pm) occurring on the second Friday of the month. The program is regularly assessed by researchers from the Center for Urban and Multicultural Education (CUME).

Findings
The presenters will discuss the methodology used to assess the program and the primary findings across three cohorts, focusing specifically on women participants.

CUME used the Higher Education Leadership Competency (HELC) Inventory to measure participants’ self-reported leadership competencies at the beginning and end of the program. The survey consisted of five subscales related to leadership skills. Table 1 displays the results for all women of color and white women who participated in the program from the past three cohorts (2015, 2016 and 2017). The presenters will discuss the significance of these findings in detail with participants.

Table 1.
Pre-Post HELC Inventory
WOC (M) n = 13 WW (M) n = 26
Competencies Subscale
Pre Post Diff. Pre Post Diff.
Analytical 16 3.42 3.54 .12* 3.20 3.52 .32***
Communication 5 3.43 3.58 .15 3.25 3.60 .35***
Student Affairs 4 3.06 3.35 .29* 2.79 3.14 .34***
Behavioral 5 3.68 3.74 .06 3.45 3.71 .26**
Ext. Relations 5 2.89 3.10 .21 2.61 2.97 .36**
*p≤.05; **p≤.01; ***p≤.001
WOC = women of color; WW = white women

Conclusion
This type of leadership development offered through the Next Gen 2.0 program, which gives participants the opportunity to learn from and network with individuals that currently hold faculty and staff positions of power at the university, is rare. Professional development programs designed as social justice interventions to redress historical inequities are critical to effect sustained institutional change. The evaluation of the program functioned as a fidelity mechanism through which ‘just in time’ improvements were developed and implemented to meet program goals and ensure desired outcomes.

Implications
Findings suggest that participants have benefited substantially from the Next Gen 2.0 program over the last three years in terms of the acquisition of increased leadership competencies and achievements (honors, awards, promotions). Table 2 details the current numbers of awards and promotions in each cohort to date. Both faculty and staff received promotions to the next rank or to a higher administrative level.

Table 2.
Achievements of Cohort Members

Honors/awards - National Honors/awards - Local Promotions Other
2015-2016 (N = 20)
WOC (n = 4) 1 2 4 2
WW (n = 11) 2 3 5 4

2016-2017 (N = 22)
WOC (n = 6) 0 3 1 1
WW (n = 13) 0 6 2 2

2017-2018 (N = 22)
WOC (n = 9) 0 0 0 2
WW (n = 10) 0 0 1 5

Many participants have expressed their conviction that the Next Gen 2.0 experience was formative in their decision to pursue these opportunities (e.g., “I look forward to beginning my work in this new role. I believe wholeheartedly that my involvement with Next Generation 2.0 led to this opportunity.”). Participants expressed their belief that the program bolstered their confidence and supported their efforts at higher achievement.

Presenters

• Kathleen S. Grove, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

• Gina Sanchez Gibau, IUPUI

• Shanna Marie Stuckey, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis