Dean and Directors Institute
Is the CE Unit Independent or Integral to the 21st Century University?

    In these times of economic constraint, technological and professional change, and major demographic shifts, many deans are finding their responsibilities redefined and institutional expectations increased. Meanwhile their constituencies are expanding, and there is an explosion of new pathways to higher education via the Internet. The 2010 Deans and Directors Institute will examine the range of roles that professional and continuing education leaders are expected to fulfill both internally and externally. Perhaps no other academic leadership role is as fundamentally challenging and exciting in our era.
    The Institute will focus on four central dimensions of what it means to be a dean or director: leadership, stewardship, citizenship, and partnership. Deans and directors are first leaders of their own organizations. They are also stewards of their programs and their institution’s brand. They are engaged citizens in academic, regional, and even global communities. And they are expected to partner with many within as well as beyond their institutions. By examining different types of institutions, with diverse missions and histories, and through leaders with varied backgrounds and perspectives, this Institute will explore how some deans and directors are recasting their key roles and relationships with their parent institutions and the broader community.

Reshaping Our Organizations to Respond to Changing Needs
Presenter: David Wilson, Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-Extension/University of Wisconsin Colleges
    The University of Wisconsin-Extension has developed the nation's first online Sustainable Management bachelor's degree in collaboration with four University of Wisconsin campuses-UW-Parkside, UW-River Falls, UW-Stout, and UW-Superior. Wisconsin is the first major university system to offer undergraduate students this online option. The program just began in fall 2009 and nearly twice as many students enrolled than expected.

The Ongoing Role of the Dean/Director in Organizational Change and Capacity Building: Principles and Examples from Practice
Presenter: Joyce Feucht-Haviar, Dean, The Tseng College (Graduate, International, and Midcareer Education), California State University–Northridge
    Often those in continuing higher education look forward when all the stars will align – and campus leadership will understand how wonderful continuing education/extended learning is. While institutional context is an important component, it is the strategic, tactical, and persistent work of the dean/director that creates the understanding of the institution for a wider range of possibilities. This session will illustrate this through the changes at CSU Northridge leading to the creation of a range of innovative graduate programs including a collaborative and innovative pair masters degrees in assistive technologies.

Making a Difference in a Global Community
Presenter: Mary Walshok, Associate Vice Chancellor, Extended Studies & Public Programs, University of California – San Diego Extension

Connecting the University with the Community
Presenter: Michael Shinagel, Dean, Continuing Education and Extension, Harvard University
    Michael Shinagel will present an historical perspective on citizenship as university outreach for the community, tracing the origins to the Lyceum Movement and the founding of the Lowell Institute in Boston to the creation of University Extension in 1910. Outreach to the community is a core part of the mission of each program, ranging from scholarship programs to high school students and teachers, to local city employees, to local immigrant communities, and to retired professionals - now including an expanding distance education program offered to a global community.