THE PARTICIPANTS

• Rosana Avila, Study Abroad 
• Ken Barnes, Internship and Career Center
• Lisa Borchard, Office of the Vice Provost
• Lisa Chance Berriz, Office of the Chancellor
• Santos Bursiaga, UC Davis Medical Group, Capitol office
• Donna Connolly, School of Education
• Bryce Council, Parking and Transportation Services
• Damia Dillard, Department of Internal Medicine
• Kori Feinstein, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine
• Joanna Friesner, Agriculture Sustainability Institute
• Ben Gamez, Human Resources
• Nicole Gibson, Department of Molecular Biosciences, School of Veterinary Medicine
• Dianna Gloria, Patient Financial Services
• Sara Hawkes, Student Academic Success Center
• Mariaelena Herrera, Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine
• Yulia Keifer, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Steve Lanterman, Facilities Management
• Daniel Marenco, Clinical Information Services
• Rebecca Mosley, Health Sciences Development
• Shanna Nation Jose, Office of Research
• Hang Nguyen, Purchasing
• Huyen Nguyen, UC Davis Medical Group, primary care, J Street (Sacramento) and Carmichael
• Andra Nicoli, UC Cal Fresh Nutrition Education
• Lee Oerding, Graduate School of Management
• Gloria Peterson, UC Davis Medical Group, primary care, Folsom
• Abby Reyes, academic personnel, dean’s office, School of Medicine
• Mari Royer, School of Education
• Kate Shasky, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Sciences
• Su-Lin Shum, Budget and Institutional Analysis
• Sandra Vice, Phoenix administrative cluster (Plant Pathology, Entomology, and Nematology)

The UC Davis Administrative Officers for the Future program celebrated a graduating class of Davis campus and UC Davis Health System employees last month.

“It is essential that we nurture a well-trained and diverse cadre of leaders who can take us to even greater heights over the coming years and decades,” Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi said. “The Administrative Officers for the Future program is the latest example of our commitment to developing current staff so they can become the future leaders of our university.”

A work force audit had previously revealed the bench was thin for hiring behind chief administrative officers who will be retiring over the next several years. The seven-month course built a pipeline of employees who can someday fill CAO and other key leadership positions when they become available.

Collaborating across the causeway

The university built the training program’s cohort as a broad and diverse representation of the campus and UC Davis Health System communities. The participant numbers — 18 from Davis and 12 from Sacramento — reflected the percentage breakdown of employees on both campuses.

Managers identified the participants as high-potential employees and came up with far more than could be accommodated. This created tough decisions for the selection committees, but assured a diverse mix of experience, knowledge and perspective.

“The diversity of our cohort, along with the many perspectives introduced by presenters, facilitators and project sponsors, allowed us to experience a broader perspective for all that UC Davis has to offer,” said participant Mari Royer, academic personnel analyst in the School of Education.

“The course presented a holistic education that challenged us to consider future leadership opportunities at One UC Davis, not just at our respective campuses.”

The program’s design team comprised learning and development experts from Staff Development and Professional Services on the Davis campus, and Training and Development on the Sacramento campus. Best practice elements from talent development programs in university and health system settings included:

• Diverse cohort of high potentials
• Customized competency model
• Classroom instruction
• Assessments, including a 360-degree review based on the competency model, a functional skills self-assessment and a writing assessment
• Career development planning, including three informational interviews with leaders whom the participants did not work with on a day-to-day basis; individual development planning; and “Career Journey Talks” in which five top UC Davis executives shared their personal stories about their journeys to leadership
• Experiential learning, in project teams
• Time commitment — the cohort met two days per month for seven months, contributed 40 hours each to projects, and spent time on independent assignments. The participants developed deep skills by applying instruction in their day-to-day work.

“We spent a lot of time together and had opportunities before, during and after class to learn from each other,” said Benjamin Gamez, Human Resources analyst. “Our discussions revealed many similarities between the goals and priorities of our two campuses.”

Learning by doing

The team projects served as the program’s capstone, testing all that the participants had learned. Project proposals came in from both campuses, with the potential sponsors eager to tap into what each team offered: a combined 120 hours of work on researching the assignment and delivering a resource-capable solution.

In choosing the 10 assignments, one for each team, the training program organizers looked for projects that could be accomplished within the time frame of the course, which built upon the core competencies of an administrative officer, and increased participants’ exposure to mission-critical work.

“The projects were an amazing learning experience for all of us,” said Steve Lanterman, budget and finance manager for Facilities Management. “We utilized our unique skill sets to solve campus problems and it was very rewarding knowing we helped solve real-time campus and health system issues.

“Despite the program’s having reached its official end, we have agreed to continue the program independently, holding monthly meetings with plans to seek additional projects to work on as a team.”

Projects completed during the course, and the future projects being tackled independently, all have real value for UC Davis.

The Internship and Career Center’s Marcie Kirk Holland sponsored a project that will assist her unit in providing services for international students.

“The team’s approach has had an immediate, positive benefit, affirming and refining our approach to resource allocation,” Kirk Holland said. “Their effective use of qualitative and quantitative research provided a comprehensive report in a short timeframe, something our office would not have been able to accomplish without shuffling responsibilities.”

Cameron Blount, chief administrative officer for the UC Davis Eye Center, experienced personal and professional fulfillment in his role as a sponsor. “Working with a motivated group of professionals on a real-world project that affects the daily lives of so many health system administrators was a tremendous exercise in mentorship, teamwork and problem solving," he said. "Not to mention the very product my team put together addressed a significant need for my own department.” 

Investing for the future

The Administrative Officers for the Future series is the latest investment to develop leaders from within the ranks of UC Davis employees.

“The experts within our Staff Development and Professional Services unit and our Training and Development unit comprised a team that continues to utilize industry best practices to create model employee development programs for UC Davis,” said Susan Gilbert, associate vice chancellor of Human Resources. “The long-term success of these programs is measured over years, but early indicators suggest the Administrative Officers for the Future program will prove to be a wise investment for the university.”

In 2007-08, a similar leadership development course was held for student affairs officers on the UC Davis campus, to address a disparity between the identified bench strength revealed in the work force audit and the competencies expected of these officers.

In 2005-06, a work force analysis revealed a knowledge-and-skills gap between the long-standing campus management services officers who were nearing retirement eligibility and the strength of the employees below them in the organizational structure. To address the gap, the UC Davis Management Services Officers for the Future program was developed and delivered. Today, more than 80 percent of those graduates are still with the university and have since advanced to more senior leadership positions.

Opportunities for development

Staff Development and Professional Services (Davis campus) and Training and Development (Sacramento campus) provide learning opportunities year-round. If you have questions about your own development, start by checking out the unit websites.

Resources at UC Davis exist to allow staff to invest in their own development. Either through classroom instruction, Web-based learning, or toolkits and assessments like those used in the Administrative Officers for the Future program. In fact, many resources from the program are available online in the form of the Administrative Officer Development Toolkit; it is designed for chief administrative officers and aspiring CAOs who are interested in building strength in the six administrative officer competencies — competencies that were developed through extensive research and focus groups to identify the common traits of the highest performing CAOs now employed at UC Davis.

“Opportunities await our emerging and future leaders at UC Davis,” Gilbert said. “It’s never too early, or too late, to start investing in your career path.

"Contact our UC Davis Human Resources specialists at campus Staff Development and Professional Services and the Health System's Training and Development unit and let them help you get started.”

Scott Yates is project and communications manager in Human Resources.

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