Athens, Ga. – Three University of Georgia faculty members—Melissa Harshman, L. Stephen Miller and Judith Wasserman—will gain a deeper perspective on modern academic leadership as 2014-2015 SEC Academic Leadership Development Program Fellows.
The Academic Leadership Development Program Fellows program at UGA is part of the broader Academic Leadership Development Program of the Southeastern Conference. The program seeks to identify, prepare and advance academic leaders for roles within SEC institutions and beyond.
Based on their areas of interest, the UGA ALDP Fellows will work with select senior administrators. The fellowship also includes two, three-day SEC-wide workshops that include lectures, panel discussions and opportunities for the fellows to interact with their counterparts from other SEC institutions. The fall workshop will be held Oct.13-15 at the University of Missouri in Columbia, and the spring workshop will be held in February at Texas A&M University in College Station.
The SEC ALDP is managed locally by a liaison, an individual designated by the provost to serve as the primary point of contact on each campus. Liaisons lead their fellows through the year-long SEC ALDP and organize university development opportunities.
“This program is a wonderful opportunity for UGA’s three SEC ALDP Fellows to engage with colleagues and explore avenues for advancement in higher education,” said Meg Amstutz, associate provost for academic programs and UGA’s SEC ALDP liaison. “The year-long experience will offer them a broad look at university leadership, both here and across the conference.”
Harshman, associate professor in the Lamar Dodd School of Art in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, joined the UGA faculty in 1993. She has exhibited widely throughout the U.S. and abroad. Harshman directs the university’s First-Year Odyssey Seminar program and has served as graduate coordinator, gallery director and chair of the printmaking and book arts department in the School of Art. Harshman’s university level service includes tenure on the Franklin College Faculty Senate, University Council, the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts Advisory Board, the Lilly Fellows Selection Committee, the Innovative Instructional Summer Grants Program Review Committee and Faculty Awards Committee. She is currently on the Instructional Advisory Committee for the Center for Teaching and Learning.
Miller, a professor of psychology in the Franklin College and director of the UGA Bioimaging Research Center, joined the UGA faculty in 1991. His research encompasses a variety of behavioral processes as they relate to both brain function and dysfunction, and he has published more than 90 journal articles and book chapters and presented more than 160 conference papers, primarily in the areas of neurocognitive processing and neuroimaging. His work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the state of Georgia, private foundations and by industry. He has served as a commissioner for accreditation for the American Psychological Association; on the Board of Directors for the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology Programs; and as a Fellow of the National Academy of Neuropsychology.
Wasserman, associate professor in the College of Environment and Design, joined the UGA faculty in 1998. She directed the Master of Landscape Architecture Program in the environment and design college and was interim coordinator for the Master of Environmental Planning and Design Program. Currently, she serves as director of the college’s Advanced Visualization Initiative and as the college’s diversity representative. Wasserman holds the elected post of secretary for the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture and previously served as the Southeast Regional Representative. Additionally, she chairs accreditation evaluation teams for the American Society of Landscape Architects. Her published research includes the design of urban environments for active use and health, California modernism in landscape architecture, and place-making for cultural meaning. Her practice includes design visualization and health and recreation planning for community environments.
Since its inception in 2008, SEC ALDP has graduated more than 230 faculty and academic administrators. The SEC Academic Leadership Development Program is part of SECU, the academic initiative of the SEC. SECU serves as the primary mechanism through which the collaborative academic endeavors and achievements of SEC universities are promoted and advanced.
The application deadline for next year’s SEC Academic Leadership Development Program is April 10. To learn more, see http://provost.uga.edu/index.php/resources/fellowships/administrative-fellows-program/.