September 2004

By Greg Rosenthal
Special to FYI Online

After completing just two-thirds of UMUC’s Leadership and Management Development Program, participants have found themselves applying what they have learned in class directly to their jobs. In fact, class members have discovered that the program teaches exactly what they need to succeed day-to-day where they work, in the trenches of academic administration.

	Andrea Hart

“As much as I’ve done budgets and planning in life, and in previous lives, I thought accounting was something I’d never get,” said Andrea Hart, associate director of alumni relations. “In five minutes, the light bulb went on. In five minutes with Mike Evanchik, I understood 20 years of what I should have learned.”

Tom Porch, director of undergraduate advising, also wasted no time using his new expertise in project management. “Having little experience building projects, Dr. Versace’s class has been truly helpful in [teaching me] how to create a project plan,” said Porch, another of the 20 participants invited to join the program.

Salina Kwong, assistant director of accounting systems, found daily uses for the problem-solving strategies she learned in the program. “It is important to identify what the main issue and what are just the effects of the main issue,” she said. “Without solving the core problem, you just deal with the effects.”

All three agreed that the internal networking opportunities in the program also proved valuable.

“Meeting different colleagues from different areas of the University gives me a broader insight in how the other departments work,” Kwong said. “I am mainly involved in finance, so I don’t know a lot about the academic programs.”

The value of such relationship-building impressed Porch as well. “Networking has helped me,” he said. “I can call on others now so my department is better connected with information technology, communications, and institutional planning. I hope in turn I’ve been an asset to others, giving the enrollment management’s perspective, because we’re such a new department.”

Hart, Kwong, and Porch each agreed on another common theme: the high quality of the faculty, staff, and executive coaches. Internal experts from senior administration and the Graduate School teach all the courses, and UMUC’s National Leadership Institute provides each class member with seven sessions of executive coaching.

“I am so impressed at the caliber of faculty and staff at the University,” Hart said. “They are so outstanding. It’s phenomenal the level of expertise we have in-house.”

Kwong agreed that the program lecturers were good, and emphasized how important her coach had been to her. “Jeri Lyon is a very good listener, and I have certain situations at work that I have talked with her about,” she said. “She is especially good at listening and giving feedback.”

Hart had a similar experience with her coach, Regina Romero. “It’s been extraordinary,” Hart said. “[The coaches] are very honest and real in their interactions and their responses to you.”

In describing his own coach, Porch called Bill McCarthy a great resource. “Once a month we talk about my professional growth, and he’s offered great advice I’ve applied directly to my position.”

Assessing the program to date, Hart said she recognized the significant amount of resources required to conduct the program. “I think it’s a wonderful opportunity,” she said. “I recognize the commitment of the leadership here, and we understand that they don’t have to do this.”