The Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor has announced its annual selection of faculty who will attend two Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) leadership programs this year.

Academic Leadership Program (ALP)

• Cory Armstrong, Lawrence L. and Ruth E. Pike Professor in Journalism, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications
• Nick Brozović, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Director of Policy at the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute
• Lisa Franzen-Castle, Professor and Extension Nutrition Specialist, Nutrition and Health Sciences
• Christine Kelley, Professor of Mathematics
• Laurie A. Miller, Associate Professor of Practice of Economics, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs and Curriculum in the College of Business
• Witawas Srisa-An, Professor of Computer Science, Director of the School of Computing

ALP Fellows will attend a program that is a blend of in-person and virtual events, including seminars held at Northwestern University in October and at The Ohio State University in April. They will also participate in conversations on campus throughout the academic year learning about leadership and a broad range of topics including community engagement, diversity and inclusion, freedom of expression, challenging conversations, mental health, student success and the social value of higher education.

New this year, the BTAA has a grant from the Mellon Foundation that will provide an enhanced two-year experience to select ALP Fellows within humanities disciplines. Cory Armstrong has been selected as the Nebraska ALP-Mellon Fellow for 2023-24 and will participate in additional programming focused on academic leadership in the humanities and complete a mentored project within the EVC Office.

Department Executive Officers Program (DEO)

• Maria de Guzman, Professor and Extension Specialist in Adolescent Development in Child, Youth and Family Studies
• Jimmy Downes, Brewster Professor of Accountancy, Director of the School of Accountancy
• Jody Koenig Kellas, Willa Cather Professor and Chair of Communication Studies
• Jolene Smyth, Professor and Chair of Sociology
• Zhenghong Tang, Professor and Program Director of Community and Regional Planning

DEO Fellows will attend a hybrid program of online sessions and an in-person event at the Big Ten Conference Center in Rosemont, Ill. Program topics will cover conflict resolution, mentoring, faculty development, performance reviews,and group problem-solving.

Learn more about the programs and view past participants at Academic Leadership Program and Department Executive Officers Program. Contact facultyaffairs@unl.edu for more information about these leadership opportunities.