Institute Criteria

Institute for Miami Leadership Development - Cohort 5 - 2018
IMLD Cohort 5 - 2018

Application Pool

The Institute is comprised of 10-12 mid-career, full-time faculty and staff members who are interested in continuing or expanding their leadership roles. IMLD participants generally have 3-7 years of demonstrated leadership, and they are nominated in fall semester of even years (e.g., 2020, 2022) by their divisional vice presidents, deans, associate deans, department chairs, program directors or heads of offices. Faculty members should be members of faculty assembly, and staff members should be a coordinator, assistant director or higher in title.

Nominees are invited to attend informational meetings early in the spring semester of odd years (e.g., 2021, 2023) and, if interested, to apply for the Institute by spring break. Applications should be emailed to the Office of the Provost and include a statement of interest, a list of the applicant’s leadership experiences (both Miami and other professional roles), and a concise description of one’s goals or expectations as a participant in the IMLD.

By the end of spring semester of odd years, members of the cohort (who will begin the program the following fall semester) are selected. For all cohort members, 100% participation in all facets of the program is expected. (Dates for all activities and other program outcomes will be provided at time of acceptance.)

Institute Schedule

Participation in the IMLD is for three consecutive semesters. Cohort members begin, the IMLD with a one and a half day opening retreat which occurs during the fall semester of each odd year.

Over the course of fall and spring semester in the first year, fundamentals of leadership and Miami specific leadership examples will be explored through presentations by guest speakers, dinner conversations, book discussions, round tables and open session events.

Cohort members participate in an applied experience during the summer or fall semester of the second year. This self-directed experience enables each cohort member (CM) to apply what they have learned in year one of the program and conduct a more in-depth and focused examination of some aspect of the university and/or leadership. Each CM will develop their applied experience proposal in the spring of year one of the program, with the execution to take place in the subsequent summer and/or fall term, culminating with CMs reconvening to share insights of their experiences in late fall. The IMLD will conclude with a graduation celebration in December of year two. A Steering Committee member oversees and helps facilitate each CM's individual experience. Each CM may self-design a unique applied experience or adapt one of the opportunities provided by program leaders and listed below (e.g., mentoring, shadowing, committee attendance, benchmarking, interviews).

Applied Experience

Cohort members will create an applied experience proposal in which they select one of the following experiences (or design one of their own).  Proposals should:

  • Briefly describe the application experience you envision.
  • Identify 2-3 learning goals for the experience. What do you hope to accomplish?
  • Describe the type of support/resources needed (e.g., assistance of steering committee in identifying potential mentor or committee approval, travel reimbursement, etc.)to accomplish the experience. 
  • Provide a timeline for completion of the experience.

Experience #1—Mentoring

CM will propose a short list of leaders within Miami or at another institution with whom s/he would like to set up a mentoring relationship. Once paired, the CM will arrange regular meetings to determine the following:

    • Priorities: What does the CM want to learn or do related to leadership? How does the CM envision the mentor helping (the CM to achieve the goals)?
    • Area of interest: What expertise does the mentor have that is of interest?  What are your areas of interest?  How do your interests intersect with those of the mentor? What questions do you have for the mentor?  What knowledge might you gain from the mentor?
    • Opportunities: What opportunities would be beneficial to the CM? How might the mentor participate in, guide or support these opportunities?
    • Direction: Using your mentor as a professional sounding board, what challenges, problems or issue would you like to share to gain insights?
    • Milestones: In collaboration with your mentor, create short-term or long-term goals for the mentoring relationship and for your leadership journey.

The above items are meant to be suggestions, as the CM and mentor should craft their own relationship. If appropriate, CMs may also participate in a group-mentoring situation where one mentor works with a small group of participants.

Experience #2—Shadowing

CM will identify a leader at Miami or at another institution with whom s/he would like to shadow the day-to-day operations and responsibilities of the mentor. Faculty may wish to shadow staff, and vice versa. The goal is to develop a greater understanding of the role and tasks related to the position/office. Ideally, shadowing will occur on multiple occasions during the term of the engagement with follow-up reflection sessions between the CM and the person who was shadowed..

Experience #3—Committee Attendance

CM will identify a standing committee or regular administrative meeting that they would like to attend multiple times during the term of the engagement. The CM will work with a member of the committee who will be able to debrief and afterward answer questions regarding the discussions at the meetings.

Below is a list of potential, regularly-scheduled, standing meetings that may be of interest to CMs. (This list is certainly not exhaustive, nor guaranteed to be accessible to the CM at certain times.) Approval must be obtained at the time of request and is subject to the approval of the committee chair. In addition, the CM may identify other groups/committees that are of interest. The CM may also want to identify multiple committees, in order of preference, in their proposal.

    • President's Executive Council
    • Board of Trustees (Full BOT Meeting, Academic and Student Life Committee or Finance and Business Committee)
    • Council of Academic Deans
    • Council of Chairs for a specific academic division
    • Finance and Budget Meeting
    • Physical Facilities Meetings
    • Advancement Services Meetings
    • Institutional Response Team
    • Institutional Diversity
    • Undergraduate Academic Advising Council
    • University Accreditation and Assessment Council
    • Student Court
    • University Senate or Senate Committee:
      • Academic Policy Committee
      • Academic Program Review Committee
      • Athletic Policy Committee
      • Awards and Recognition Committee
      • Benefits Committee
      • Campus Planning Committee
      • Council on Diversity and Inclusion
      • Committee for the Center of Teaching Excellence (CTE)
      • Faculty Research Committee
      • Faculty Welfare Committee
      • Fiscal Priorities Committee
      • Governance Committee
      • Graduate Council
      • Information Technology Policy Committee
      • International Education Committee
      • Library Committee
      • Miami University Dolibois European Center (MUDEC)
      • Student Affairs Council
      • Undergraduate Curriculum, Council for
      • Undergraduate Research Committee
      • University Honors Program Advisory Committee
      • University Liberal Education Council
      • University Senate Executive Committee

Experience #4—Benchmarking

CM will identify an institution that they would like to visit and arrange meetings with defined offices/leaders which could then provide a basis for comparison to Miami University. For such an experience, travel expense reimbursement must be pre-approved by the steering committee.

Experience #5—Informational interviews

The CM will schedule at least three informational interviews. These highly focused information gathering sessions with higher education leaders within or outside the university not only provides the CM with the “insider” point of view, but also allows for networking contacts.