February 28, 2018

Historic Cohort Completes SEC Academic Leadership Development Program

Several members of SEC ALDP Cohort 10 pose for a group photo during the fall workshop at LSU

By: SEC Staff
SECU (Twitter: @TheSECU)

The SEC recently recognized its 10th cohort of participants (i.e., fellows) for completing the SEC Academic Leadership Development Program (SEC ALDP), bringing the decade-long initiative’s total number of graduates to approximately 400.

Auburn University hosted the spring SEC ALDP workshop on its campus, and nearly 75 fellows and liaisons participated in the three-day event, which culminated with a certificate ceremony on the final morning.

SECU Executive Director, Dr. Torie A. Johnson, was on hand for the recognition, and she encouraged fellows to use what they have learned as they progress in their academic careers, and to tell friends, colleagues and even the skeptics that there are remarkable faculty and students at each SEC university.

The SEC ALDP seeks to identify, prepare and advance academic leaders for roles within SEC institutions and beyond. It has three components: a university-level development program designed by each institution for its own fellows; two SEC-wide workshops held on specified campuses for all program participants; and a competitive fellowship designed to provide administrative growth opportunities for former fellows.

Several former fellows attended the Auburn workshop, including Dr. Dan Gropper, who was a member of the 2011-2012 cohort while at Auburn and is currently serving as Dean of the College of Business at Florida Atlantic University. He joined a panel charged with helping the fellows identify, “What’s Next?”

“We are fortunate to work in higher education,” Gropper said. “We play a key role in society and we help create opportunity. What a great way to make a living.”

In order to complete the SEC ALDP, fellows must attend two on-campus workshops and be active participants on the campus level. As alumni, they have access to a network of other former fellows and the opportunity to compete for the SEC ALDP Alumni Fellowship.

The 2018-2019 SEC Academic Leadership Development Program workshops will be held at the University of Kentucky and the University of Tennessee.