Critical Issues Leadership Conference
The Department of Organization and School Leadership held its first Inaugural Critical Issues Leadership Conference. The theme of the conference was Exploring the Future: Leading Change. The purpose of the conference was to explore events and trends that would transform the future of education and what leaders needed to do to effectively lead, manage and sustain change.
The conference brought together school district teams comprised of educational leaders such as superintendents, assistant superintendents, central office staff and principals from across South Texas. The participants were engaged in interactive work sessions, led by faculty, to guide them to examine and apply strategies that facilitated implementation of change initiatives. Team leaders shared district and campus leadership challenges they had encountered and experienced. The team leaders examined and applied research; assessed change readiness levels, analyzed their stakeholders – supporters, opponents and groups of indifferences; developed early win strategies, identified actions for managing resistance, set parameters for collaborative planning, and planned for sustainability of change initiative. Approximately 120 participants made up of 10 school districts and three education foundations attended the conference.
Press Release: UTRGV hosts first Critical Issues in Leadership Conference, By Jennifer L. Berghom.