Applications for the 2024-25 Advanced Leadership for Academics and Professionals cohort will be open April 1st through May 6th, 2024.
The Advanced Leadership for Academics and Professionals (ALAP) program, developed in collaboration with UF’s Office of the Provost, Faculty Senate, and Human Resource Services, offers UF academic and professional leaders the opportunity to enhance their leadership skills. The program offers two tracks: one for academic leaders and another for professional staff. It is designed based on leadership competencies crucial for success at UF, developed through interviews and focus groups with successful UF leaders. Participants attend track-specific activities and collaborate on leadership development issues.
To join the Academic Track, you must be a UF faculty member in a leadership role. For the Professional Track, applicants must be in a TEAMS position at the assistant director level or above.
If you are a new department chair or school/institute director, consider the New Chair Leadership Program.
Upon acceptance into the ALAP program, there is a participation fee of $1,500. The fee covers all materials, including a 360-degree evaluation, facilitation fees, and meals. There is no need for travel if you live and work in Gainesville.
“The ALAP program was undoubtedly the best professional development experience I’ve ever had. The materials are thorough and useful, and the curriculum as a whole gave me the skills and the confidence I needed to continue honing my management and my leadership styles. But the experience was so much more than just the materials… It was exploring other aspects and areas of the university, it was learning from others and sharing their experiences and practices, and benefitting from the leaders’ and guests’ vast knowledge and insight. We developed a strong cohort, in fact I am still in regular contact with a good number of the other participants from my year. And it seems that any time a new project or opportunity comes up, it turns out that I already know someone in whatever area I need, all thanks to my ALAP connections. I would recommend ALAP to any and all members of the UF community who are in a leadership position. It is a time commitment, but you definitely get back far more than what you put in. My only regret was waiting so long to participate in the program!”
“ALAP was a great experience for me; it provided both invaluable networking opportunities as well as top-notch leadership training. The instructors of the course, in consultation with UF leadership, have determined the specific competencies needed to excel and thrive at UF. These core competencies are also applicative to so many everyday experiences that you’ll find yourself using them in all kinds of situations. The program was instrumental in helping me move into higher leadership roles at UF. I can’t recommend this program highly enough; the time commitment was well worth it!”
“I found the benefits to ALAP to be threefold. First, the content was tailored well for all of us in both the academic and professional tracks. We covered very practical leadership and management material, and the stage was set for us to apply what we learned in higher education and at UF specifically. Second, the program had a very cool retreat feel to it. It gave us the time and space to step out of our day-to-day mindsets and examine our own leadership carefully. Third, I treasure the relationships I built with other participants and speakers from all over UF. We worked hard, laughed all the time, and came away from the experience with a much better understanding of all the diverse roles people play to make this giant university work… Or maybe I should say the benefits were four-fold—the food was fantastic too!”
“I went into ALAP unsure of what to expect from this significant commitment of time and energy. Would I become better at managing my team? Would I become better at difficult employee conversations? Would I become better at writing a business plan? Yes, yes, and yes – but so much more. I learned that being a leader is not simply about being a better supervisor, but about bringing leadership skills to every aspect of my job, whether as the head of a group or a member of a group, in advising and coaching colleagues in my area of expertise, in providing vision within my department and the organization, in making every interaction productive and beneficial for other people, for me, and for the institution. Whatever you think you might gain from participating in ALAP, I promise it will be more than what you expect.”