Nearly a dozen Indiana University Bloomington faculty and department chairs were selected to participate in two leadership programs offered by the Big Ten Academic Alliance.

Five department chairs were picked for the Departmental Executive Officer Program, a three-day seminar involving more than 60 department heads and chairs:

• Tessa Bent, Provost Professor and chair of the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences.
• Natalie Hipple, professor and chair of the College’s Department of Criminal Justice.
• Douglas Landsittel, professor and chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the School of Public Health-Bloomington.
• Steven Tait, professor and chair of the College’s Department of Chemistry.
• Demondrae Thurman, professor of music in euphonium and chair of the Department of Brass in the Jacobs School of Music.

The Departmental Executive Officer Program covers topics such as conflict resolution, time management, faculty development, performance reviews and group problem-solving.

Six faculty were chosen for the Academic Leadership Program, which develops the leadership skills of professors who might pursue careers in academic administration:

• David Crandall, Luddy Professor of Computer Science and inaugural director of the Luddy Artificial Intelligence Center in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering.
• Rich Hardy, Provost Professor of Biology and associate dean for undergraduate education in the College of Arts and Sciences.
• Caroline Chick Jarrold, Class of 1948 Herman B Wells Endowed Professor and associate dean for research and mathematical and natural sciences in the College.
• Linda Pisano, chair of the Department of Theatre, Drama and Contemporary Dance in the College.
• Josh Perry, associate dean for academics and Graf Family Professor of Business Law and Ethics in the Kelley School of Business.
• Colleen Ryan, associate vice provost in the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs.

The Academic Leadership Program features three seminars by Big Ten Academic Alliance universities, meetings and programs with administrative leaders.

The Big Ten Academic Alliance, formerly the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, includes the 14 universities of the Big Ten Conference and the University of Chicago.

“At IU Bloomington, we know that our academic leaders at all levels help drive innovation, student success and community engagement,” said Carrie Docherty, vice provost for faculty and academic affairs. “The Departmental Executive Officer Program and the Academic Leadership Program offer the chance for our faculty to utilize the resources offered by the Big Ten Academic Alliance in order to help develop the leadership skills necessary to maintain a community of excellent scholars and teachers.”