Project Kaleidoscope

The definition of leadership that drives the work of PKAL is taken from the work of Alexander Astin and Helen Astin (Leadership Reconsidered: Engaging Higher Education in Social Change, 2000):

…leadership is a process ultimately concerned with intentionally fostering change ...that is directed toward some future or condition which is desired or valued. …all people are potential leaders and…leadership is a group process.

This definition describes the work of leaders in many settings, but it seems particularly relevant in the process of developing leaders to take responsibility for systemic transformation of the undergraduate STEM learning environment. A recent Howard Hughes Medical institute (HHMI) publication (Making the Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for Postdocs and New Faculty, 2006) makes the same point about leadership in these words, in the context of describing the leadership roles of scientists within the lab setting:

Leadership is getting a group of people to enact a vision of what needs to be accomplished….thus, leadership starts with a vision, and requires relationships with others to accomplish tasks.

When developing leaders from within the ranks of faculty, it is important to note that:

• faculty leadership is non-positional
• faculty leaders generate and direct energy
• faculty leaders are accountable for outcomes
• faculty leaders base action on information
• faculty leaders create networking
• faculty leaders build toward agreement
• faculty leaders are emergent and flexible
• faculty leaders shape discourse
• faculty leaders are willing to take risks.

—from Susan Sciame-Giesecke, Indiana University Kokomo

From the PKAL F21 community, here are reflections of five F21 members of the Class of 2007 on their roles as faculty leaders, together with their interviews with senior leaders on their campuses.