group_work

I rounded out my program with two courses that were like capstones on my HALE experience and provided the richest integration with my work life. The first is EAD801 - Leadership and Organizational Development. Beginning that semester I assumed responsibilities as Acting Director of MSU's Virtual University Design and Technology department. I also participated as a Fellow in MSU's 2007-2008 Executive Leadership Academy which complements my activities in EAD801.

As I began to round out my degree program the choices became more precious, as I had only three courses left. I chose EAD877 - Program Planning and Evaluation in Post-secondary Education because I am frequently exposed to the creation of new degree and certificate programs. I'm asked to help provide advice to administrators and core faculty driving the creation of new programs and the design of a curriculum and course sequence. We try to encourage 'best practices' but sometimes it is unclear which interventions have a deterministic or even positive effect.

I chose EAD876 - Budgets and Finance in Higher Education because I was getting involved heavily with our unit's budget and had for years managed capital infrastructure projects and revenue generating work-for-hire contracts. When I enrolled in the course I was working regularly with a unit budget that totaled over $1M and frequently dealt with projects with budgets ranging from $25K-$75K. I wanted to better equip myself to understand the larger picture of budgeting and gain familiarity with university wide finance issues.

Taking EAD805 Higher Education Administration was a great start for my graduate work. I made strong connections between the material and my professional work. Birnbaum(1998) provided four excellent lenses into the dynamics of a higher education institution. I was able to frame the way departments and faculty peer-groups operate differently then operational wings of the university. These ideas were most useful in committee and project work where more than one social form is in play at once.