Fearless Unit Leadership

Fearless Unit Leadership prepares academic unit heads (department chairs or their equivalent) at the University of Maryland for inclusive, compassionate, and inspiring leadership. Unit heads profoundly shape the experience of those in their departments and thus the university as a whole. They serve as liaisons between university leadership and the faculty, staff, and students who make the University of Maryland a great place to learn, innovate, and tackle grand challenges. New unit heads are faculty members who have built their careers on academic excellence but have the capacity and courage to open themselves up to new challenges. Fearless Leadership offers new unit heads the opportunity to develop strategies for managing unfamiliar demands and to plug into a network of leaders across campus in similar positions. 

Fearless Leadership consists of monthly meetings spread over the 2024-25 academic year. The meetings take place over lunch (provided) from 12:00-1:30pm. To register and learn more, click on the meeting names below.

Topics

• Session 1: September 19 - Leadership and Management
• Session 2: October 21 - Setting Expectations: APT and AEP
• Session 3: November 19 - Engaging with Conflict
• Session 4: December 10 - Managing Up, Down and Sideways
• Session 5: February 18 - Giving and Receiving Feedback
• Session 6: March, Date TBA - Strategic Planning: Mission, Vision and Values
• Session 7: April 22 - DEI, Climate and Belonging
• Session 8: Date TBA - Close-out Discussion and Celebration

All meetings will be held in person, room TBA.

Fearless Unit Leadership is a collaboration between the Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA) and the Center for Leadership and Organizational Change (CLOC). Speakers will be drawn from OFA, CLOC, outside experts, and experienced leaders from the University of Maryland.