Seminar on leadership in sustainability and social innovation open to faculty and staff

Western Today staff

September 25, 2012

The Karen W. Morse Institute for Leadership, the L.E.A.D.S. program and the Department of Human Resources at Western Washington University are sponsoring a seminar titled “Leadership in Sustainability and Social Innovation at WWU and Beyond” over the course of the 2012-2013 academic year.

The seminar is part of Western's Leadership Advantage.

Faculty and staff help students excel in their academic, professional, personal and civic pursuits and are thus in positions of influence in regard to students’ development as future leaders.

To this end, the seminar will expose participants to the literature on leadership, sustainability efforts and social innovation and allow them to share ideas with interested colleagues from throughout the university.

Seminar participants will be encouraged to translate their learning into enhanced practices in facilitating the development of student leaders and their own professional development as scholar-educators. To guarantee an interactive format, the seminar will be limited to 12 participants.

The seminar will meet six times throughout the academic year. Meetings will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on the following Mondays: Oct. 22; Nov. 12; Jan. 28; Feb. 25; April 22; and May 13.

Session agendas:

  • Session One, Oct. 22: Orientation, discussion of objectives, scheduling of participant presentations and discussion of introductory readings on leadership sustainability and social innovation.
  • Sessions Two through Five, Nov. 12 to April 22: Discussions of readings, conversations with invited guest experts and scheduled presentations by participants on their work in developing student leaders in their program or work unit.
  • Session Six, May 13: Reflections on the seminar and discussion of “take-aways” by participants.

Follow-up: As a sequel to the seminar, a follow-up session to be scheduled in fall 2013 will bring participants together to share stories on how the seminar led to new learning, research, teaching and professional development.

Facilitators are Joseph E. Garcia, director of the Karen W. Morse Institute for Leadership; Renée Collins, associate dean of students; and Nick Sanchez, supervisor training and BFA diversity administrator.

All full-time faculty and staff at WWU are eligible to apply.

To apply, please submit a one-page curriculum vitae or résumé and a one-page explanation of why you are interested in the seminar and a description of how the seminar relates to your development as a professional.

For full consideration, applications should be sent by Oct. 5 to wendy.knight@wwu.edu.

For more information, contact Joe Garcia at (360) 650-3916 or Wendy Knight at (360) 650-2292.