Sixteen Cornell Engineering faculty members recently completed the Cornell Engineering’s first immersive Faculty Leadership Academy, a professional development initiative designed to cultivate leadership skills among faculty members.
Combining theoretical foundations with practical application, the semester-long pilot program was designed and facilitated by the Nancy and Bob Selander Center for Engineering Leadership, in collaboration with college and university leaders.
The launch of the Selander Center in 2024 cemented leadership development a central component of the college’s undergraduate education, graduate training and faculty development. Among the Center’s priorities is a new “Leadership for All” program that ensures that all Cornell Engineering graduates — beginning with the Class of 2028 — emerge with formal leadership skills training.
The new faculty program spanned eight interactive sessions, each focusing on essential leadership competencies. Participants explored core values identification, collaborative leadership techniques, accountability frameworks, performance enhancement through effective feedback, decision-making processes, strategic thinking methodologies, difficult conversation navigation, and influence strategies. The program culminated with a leadership capstone project that allowed participants to synthesize their learning.
“This pilot was a step toward addressing a critical need in academic leadership development,” said Erica Dawson, assistant dean and director of the Selander Center. “The empirically grounded leadership principles and practical skills we introduced our faculty to can be applied immediately in their current roles and future career trajectories.”
Dawson was part of the pilot program’s steering committee along with Amber Alpízar, senior director of human resources for Cornell Engineering; Laura Schoenle, associate director for undergraduate research in the college’s Office of Inclusive Excellence; José Martínez, the college’s former senior associate dean for diversity and academic affairs; and Marcus Brooks, senior management consultant and trainer with Cornell’s Department of Organizational Development and Effectiveness.
The college plans to utilize feedback and reflections from this cohort to explore future faculty leadership development programming opportunities.
“This academy reflects Cornell Engineering’s ongoing commitment to supporting faculty excellence, not only in research and teaching but also in preparing faculty for success as leaders. I believe that capable leaders are essential for furthering the college’s mission and impact in the broader academic and professional communities,” said Lynden Archer, the Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering.