Several Staley School of Leadership team members Mike Finnegan, Ph.D., Keyhan Shams, and Kerry Priest, Ph.D., represented Kansas State University at the International Leadership Association’s (ILA) Leadership Education Academy (LEA). The intensive training program took place between July 31 – Aug. 3, in St. Paul, Minnesota. LEA is designed to build the knowledge and skills needed to excel as a leadership educator in a variety of settings and provides professional mentoring and networking opportunities.
The program was limited to 80 participants, including junior and senior faculty, student affairs professionals, higher education administrators, coaches and consultants, and community trainers and developers from around the globe. Participants experienced leadership theories and models, instructional strategies, and professional vision. Central to the training was a guided process of course or program planning, including a peer coaching process.
Mike Finnegan, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Staley School and director of K-State Strengths participated in this year’s cohort.
“The highlight of the conference was learning from the LEA facilitators,” said Finnegan. “They are experts in the field of leadership from around the world. Each facilitator brought a different lens to further illustrate the complexity of leadership education and development. I left the conference with frameworks, lesson plans, and activities to integrate into my leadership courses to benefit K-State students.”
Keyhan Shams, doctoral student in the leadership communication program also participated. Keyhan is a researcher with the Third Floor Research partnership and teaches undergraduate courses in the Staley School.
Shams reflected, “LEA was intricately designed with specific intentional details. Facilitators provided a variety of teaching and assessment tools firmly grounded in research. Also, imagine that 80 passionate leadership educators from all around the world were exchanging their teaching ideas, experiences, and memories for four days. It was such an exceptional unlearning and learning opportunity for me.”
Kerry Priest, Ph.D., professor in the Staley School and director of the leadership communication doctoral program, served in the role of program co-chair, supporting program designing and facilitation of the academy with a 10-member team of experts in leadership education. Priest led sessions emphasizing professional identity development and teaching and learning practices. She is a founding member of the LEA planning team, facilitating five of the six training sessions since 2015.
“LEA has been a wonderful opportunity to bridge my own research and practice of leadership education,” said Priest, who is leading scholar in the area of leadership educator professional development. “As society changes, so must leadership education. At the event we reflect on our own contexts, identities, and philosophies as we make meaning of our work and the decisions we make about programs and teaching. The program also develops a network of colleagues that provide ongoing support, collaboration, and resource sharing.”
Advancing leadership learning and development is one of the Staley School of Leadership’s research focus areas. Contributions to the International Leadership Association and Leadership Education Academy highlight the global impact – supporting leadership educators and developers everywhere by sharing practices that are relevant to today’s dynamic world.
If your group or organization would like to partner with the Staley School on leadership development, training, or research, contact Brandon W. Kliewer, associate professor with the Staley School, at bkliewer@ksu.edu.
