Emily Reetz, College of Engineering

The WSU Academic Leadership Academy (ALA) is designed to support the development of leadership capacity and skills of Wayne State faculty members and academic staff.  I recently spoke with two academic staff members, Shantalea Johns, School of Social Work, and Heather Sandlin, EACPHS, who were part of the inaugural class in Fall 2019, about their experience. 

Both Heather and Shantalea talked about how the ALA offered wonderful opportunities to create relationships across campus with individuals you would otherwise not be able to meet in the normal course of your work. As a part of the ALA, there are monthly meetings designed to help participants learn more about their own leadership style and to assist them in the process of developing their project ideas and to help them come to fruition. 

The other overarching theme during my conversations with Shantalea and Heather was the need to be passionate about the idea that you are working on. Shantalea went into the ALA with one project idea, something related to mental health.  However, based on the needs of her college, she adjusted that project to develop a minor in social work and social justice.   Heather had the beginning of a project idea when she joined ALA and her year was used to fully develop that idea.    

For other academic staff that are thinking of applying to the Academic Leadership Academy, Shantalea strongly encourages you to think about how your project could positively impact Wayne State, and to consider how being involved in such a project could help you with your personal professional goals. She also encourages everyone to think about leadership broadly and where you might want to be in the next couple years. Heather would encourage individuals to be open-minded and to think outside of the box. Your excitement and vision will create the momentum needed to bring your project to fruition.

I would like to thank Shantalea and Heather for taking the time to talk about their experience with the ALA . For more information about the first and second cohort of the ALA, as well as updates on applying for the 21-22 cohort, check out their Office of the Provost webpage.