The higher education environment continues to evolve in new and often unpredictable ways. From the changing landscape of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to shifting enrollments and declining revenue, waning public support for higher education, and the continual evolution of technology, leaders must be prepared to lead in this unsettled environment. It is more important now than ever that academic leaders have the tools they need to drive proactive and strategic changes on campus. To support leaders in understanding and enacting systemic change, we developed the Change Leadership Toolkit (CLT), a step-by-step, research-based guidebook for leaders engaged in systemic change projects. We define systemic change as change that involves multiple departments, divisions, or units and results in deep and meaningful changes to policies, procedures, norms, and cultures – the system. The CLT is grounded in research and full of practical, hands-on tools that leaders can put to use on their campuses right away. The CLT is based in an Ecosystem Model for Systemic Change Leadership that brings together the leadership context, change levers and change leader moves that are required for creating lasting change.
In this session, participants will:
- Learn about the Change Leadership Toolkit’s Ecosystem Model of Systemic Change and its associated resources.
- Understand the nature of systemic change.
- Identify their leader role and agency relative to their change work.
- Describe a set of core change leader strengths and conduct an assessment of their own change leader strengths and those of their team.
- Discuss solutions for and change leader strengths that can be used to overcome common barriers encountered in change projects.
- Leave with a better sense of their role as a leader in more effectively achieving systemic change outcomes on their campuses.
Current Anchor Learning Network participants: REGISTER HERE
ABOUT THE PRESENTER
Susan Elrod, Indiana University South Bend
Susan Elrod is chancellor at Indiana University South Bend, the largest regional campus of Indiana University (IU). She is an experienced biology professor, university administrator, and national leader in STEM and systemic change leadership in higher education. In addition to her current position, she has served as a leader at universities in two other systems of higher education, the California State University (CSU) system and the University of Wisconsin (UW) system. She has over 20 publications on topics ranging from undergraduate research to systemic change and leadership, as well as several scientific publications and patents. In 2006-7, she was an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow and currently serves on the HERS Board of Directors and the editorial board of Change Magazine. For her work in STEM higher education, she was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).