The collaborative design of a faculty administrator leadership development program in academic health: concepts and applications

ABSTRACT

The challenges facing academic health and medicine are abundant and require effective leadership across institutions. This article highlights the design of a collaborative leadership development program for faculty administrators that seeks to address many of these leadership challenges. The article begins with an overview of existing research to situate the reported case study, including literature on the contemporary context of leadership development within academic health centers and the relevant connections to leadership and communication processes that are fundamental for any leadership training and development effort. It continues with an overview of our focal case, the Academic Leadership Program at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences—a collaborative leadership development program for faculty administrators across the academic health center. Our experiences in the joint design of this program, coupled with the ongoing research on leadership development, leadership practice, and leadership dynamics in higher education and academic health centers, make clear the value of an integrative framework for the design and delivery of leadership development efforts in higher education.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. As the academic health center for Rutgers University, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) conducts research, trains health professionals, and provides patient care. The eight schools of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) comprise New Jersey’s largest and most influential constellation of academic institutions devoted to the education of the full complement of health care professionals. Schools include Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, New Jersey Medical School, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, School of Graduate Studies, School of Health Professions, School of Public Health, and the School of Nursing. The research centers and institutes include: Brain Health Institute; Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine; Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute; Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research; Institute for Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases; Rutgers Institute for Translational Medicine and Science, and the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state’s only National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center. In addition, the University Behavioral Health Care network provides nearly $300 million/year of behavioral health care, and conducts research in the areas of behavioral health, mental health, and addiction with the goal of offering cutting-edge technologies and new treatment alternatives.

2. The Rutgers Center for Organizational Leadership, a division of the Office of the Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs at Rutgers University, was established in 1993 to serve as a university-wide resource for Rutgers, and a national leader for higher education in the areas of organizational and leadership development. As a hub for academic leadership development, consultation, and research, our signature offerings aim to improve individual and collective leadership capacity and cultivate a culture of leadership development across the University. Our existing programs serve a wide array of academic and administrative audiences from across the university, including academic and administrative leaders, along with doctoral students and medical students with an interest in leadership and leadership development.

3. Prior to planning for this collaborative leadership program, members of the Rutgers Center for Organizational Leadership worked closely with leaders from across RBHS in the planning and delivery of leadership development, organizational assessment, and strategic planning retreats and workshops with departments and schools across RBHS. This history of collaboration and support provided the Center staff with substantial background regarding the unique context of academic health and led to the development of a relationship of mutual trust and understanding.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ralph A Gigliotti

Ralph A. Gigliotti, Ph.D, is the Director of the Center for Organizational Leadership at Rutgers University, where he provides executive leadership for the portfolio of signature academic leadership programs, consultation services, and research initiatives. He also serves as an associate faculty member in the Ph.D. Program in Higher Education and part-time lecturer in the Department of Communication. He is the author of Crisis Leadership in Higher Education: Theory and Practice (Rutgers University Press, 2019), and co-author of Leadership in Academic Health Centers: Core Concepts and Critical Cases (Kendall Hunt, 2021) and A Guide for Leaders in Higher Education: Core Concepts, Competencies, and Tools (Stylus, 2017).

Brent D Ruben

Brent D. Ruben, Ph.D, is a Distinguished Professor of Communication, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, and Senior University Fellow of the Rutgers Center for Organizational Leadership. He is a member of the faculties of the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, the Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine, and the Ph.D. Program in Higher Education. His scholarly work focuses on the development and application of communication theory in organizational, intercultural, health, educational, and leadership settings. Brent is author of numerous books including: A Guide for Leaders in Higher Education: Core Concepts, Competencies, and Tools (Stylus, 2017); Communication and Human Behavior (Kendall Hunt, 2017), and What Leaders Need to Know and Do (NACUBO, 2006). He serves as a guest speaker, professional advisor, and consultant in the areas of communication, leadership, organizational change, and organizational assessment nationally and internationally.

Christine Goldthwaite

Christine Goldthwaite, Ph.D, is the Assistant Director of the Center for Organizational Leadership at Rutgers University. In this role she oversees the coordination of the Rutgers Leadership Academy for mid-career faculty and staff from across the University and facilitates and consults in the areas of strategic planning, organizational assessment, workplace culture/climate, and communication design. As an organizational communication scholar, her research and consulting interests explore the intersection of organization design and communication design in relation to interdisciplinary and interprofessional collaboration. Christine is also a part-time lecturer in the School of Communication and Information where she teaches leadership in digital contexts for the Digital Communication, Information, and Media Minor (DCIM) program at Rutgers. She is a co-author of Leadership in Academic Health Centers: Core Concepts and Critical Cases (Kendall Hunt, 2021) and Leadership: Social Influence in Personal and Professional Settings (Kendall Hunt, 2017).

Brian L Strom

Brian L. Strom, M.D., M.P.H, is the Inaugural Chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) and the Executive Vice President for Health Affairs at Rutgers University. RBHS is comprised of eight schools and seven centers/institutes, and includes academic, patient care, and research facilities. These include most of the units of the former University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), now dissolved, several Rutgers University units with health-related missions, and two research units historically co-managed by Rutgers and UMDNJ. The integration of these entities has created a single organization that will lead to new models for clinical care and community service, educate the next generation of health care providers utilizing health care team approaches, and conduct research. Dr. Strom was formerly the Executive Vice Dean of Institutional Affairs, Founding Chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Founding Director of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Founding Director of the Graduate Program in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, all at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania.