The Academic Leadership Academy (ALA) has launched its 2023-24 cohort.
Created by the Office of the Provost in 2019 as part of Wayne State University’s ongoing commitment to the success and growth of its faculty and staff, this prestigious group follows a competitive application process, and each selected fellow develops a leadership project to improve a facet of campus life. Fellows are also given the opportunity to build their leadership skills via the group’s retreat, monthly seminars, ongoing meetings with coaches and mentors, and a variety of assessments.
The 2023-24 Academic Leadership Academy fellows represent disciplines and units across campus:
Heidi Bulich
Associate professor (teaching), Accounting, Mike Ilitch School of Business
Bulich will develop an interdisciplinary minor for undergraduate students to learn how the private and public sectors can work together to address the most vexing social, economic and environmental issues facing our communities – sometimes referred to as “wicked problems.” Through collaboration and teamwork, students will learn the root causes of these problems and be empowered and emboldened to become positive change agents in their communities.
From Bulich: “…I am excited about the opportunities ALA will give me to meet, learn from and work with folks at WSU and in our surrounding communities who are interested in tapping into the passion of our young students to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing our society.”
Ana Daugherty
Assistant professor, Psychology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Daugherty will lead an initiative to support established and new researchers in developing their MRI studies with state-of-the-art methods.
From Daugherty: “I am looking forward to developing skills for collaborative decision-making that can lead to action and facilitating dispute resolution within leadership committees.”
Julia Farner
Assistant professor (clinical), Nursing, College of Nursing
Farner will work to develop and define the role of the newly created faculty coordinator for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing for Veterans (VBSN) program. VBSN supports student veterans pursuing their accelerated undergraduate nursing degree. Initially supported by a federal grant, the program was previously led by a director of the VBSN program and facilitated by military veteran faculty members, academic advisors and clinical partners at the Detroit VA hospital. The director retired in 2021 and the position was dissolved, leaving a need for someone to oversee the program and its many moving parts.
From Farner: “This is a rare opportunity to provide self-reflection, receive honest feedback, learn from role models and obtain evidence on best leadership practices. I see the ALA as a place where I can strengthen my understanding of leadership, as well as evolve my leadership style to align with my new role and my career aspirations. I am most looking forward to the opportunities I will have to learn and to grow over the next year.”
Michelle Gardner
University counselor, Office of International Students and Scholars
Gardner will work to create programming for the international student population by using data pulled from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), which houses information regarding F and J visa holders, along with the Institutional Research and Data Analytics dashboards available from Wayne State.
From Gardner: “I applied to the ALA because it seemed like a great way to meet with others around campus while working on the shared desire to carry out our university's mission. We all seek to create and advance knowledge while preparing a diverse student body to thrive and positively impact local and global communities. I was once a student here that was a part of this diverse student body, and I found the most fulfillment in joining any organization I could find. That same mentality has stuck with me, and I want to help facilitate that same excitement for our current and future students.”
Jozyane Hayek
Academic services officer III, Pharmacy, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Hayek will implement a new recruiting initiative for the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) program by hiring and training Pharm.D. student ambassadors.
From Hayek: “I applied for the ALA because I would like to develop my leadership skills and collaborate with other academic professionals at Wayne State. I am mostly looking forward to learning from other leaders on campus and utilizing the skills acquired through the ALA in my current role.”
April Idalski Carcone
Associate professor, Research
From Carcone: “I sought out the opportunity to grow my leadership skills as I enter the next phase of my career. I am also increasingly finding myself in new leadership roles, such as my recent election to the School of Medicine Executive Committee, and wish to make a meaningful contribution to these roles.”
Chris Kliethermes
Assistant professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine
Kliethermes’ project will help identify patients’ knowledge and understanding of endometriosis in the Detroit patient population, with the goal of guiding future educational efforts to help patients understand the disease.
From Kliethermes: “I applied to the ALA to continue to enhance my leadership skills. I also plan to bring forth more education and knowledge for our patient population by presenting a project that could accomplish these goals. I look forward to meeting a variety of like-minded individuals at Wayne State.”
Rahul Mitra
Associate professor, Communication, College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts
Mitra’s project will work to revision the WSU chapter of the Lamba Pi Eta (LPH) National Honors Society for communication undergraduate students. The eventual goal will be to help create a student-run group that identifies promising undergraduates early (in their sophomore or junior year) and provides useful resources for professional development as well as mentoring for academic success.
From Mitra: “I have heard wonderful things about the ALA, and I am looking forward to learning and growing with the amazing leaders, scholars and teachers in my cohort.”
Keanu Respess
Academic services officer II, Office of Student Academic Affairs
From Respess: “I sought out the ALA to have the opportunity to grow at an accelerated rate from the pruning and support received from a mentor and other participants. I acknowledge that I'm a leader, but I'm also aware that I need additional guidance and vision to embody the leader I know to be. I also realized that a significate hindrance to my career was the absence of professional mentorship. I look forward to what I will learn embracing this leadership development journey.”
Tamme Quinn Grzebyk
Assistant professor (teaching), Management and Information Systems, Mike Ilitch School of Business
From Quinn Grzebyk: “Prior to joining the university, I held a variety of leadership roles. ALA provides me an opportunity to explore the commonalities and differences between industry and academic leadership; from this, I hope to employ best practices in the future. I am most looking forward to driving change that will increase efficiencies and satisfaction for multiple stakeholders at the university.”
Deirdre Turner
Coordinator of student organization programs and events, Dean of Students Office
Turner will benchmark the current processes and model against those of peer institutions and colleagues in student organization funding across Michigan and beyond to determine how the current funding criterion and model can be elevated, clarified and enhanced.
From Turner: “Through ALA, I will become better for the experience by learning how to maximize my leadership potential to achieve the objectives of my current position and also expanding my network of fellow leaders and partners while working toward even larger initiatives to connect the WSU community.”
Marissa Zhu
Curriculum specialist, Office of Teaching and Learning
Zhu will develop the Students as Teachers course (Teaching, Learning, and Clinical Reasoning), which aims to introduce a microcredential certification program combined with online active learning modules and teaching placements to train medical students how to teach junior medical students. The program will provide medical students with an opportunity to develop their teaching skills, gain experience in teaching, and contribute to the education of their peers.
From Zhu: “Joining the ALA was a natural step for me. As a recent graduate from Michigan State University's Educational Psychology and Educational Technology program, I'm thrilled to bring my background as a cognitive psychologist to design rich and engaging learning experiences for our medical students.”