UARK Leaders Program Graduates Third Cohort

Whit Pruitt

Front row from left: Chase Rainwater, Romona West, Erika Gamboa, Jamie Leto Kern and Ana Bridges. Row two: J'onnelle Colbert-Diaz, Sara Gosman and Felecia Saine. Row three: Matt Mills, Kristin Higgins, Sarah Bemis and Tara Dryer. Row four: Louise Hancox, Ron Warren, Taylor McGillis, John Post, Griffiths Atungulu and Jeffrey Allen Murdock. Top row: Weston Wilkerson, Bill Lansden and Ian Czarnezki.

Congratulations to the 21 faculty and staff members who graduated as the third cohort of the UARK Leaders Program in April. The UARK Leaders Program is a six-month leadership development program designed to help leaders across the university grow in alignment with the leadership competencies of strategic thinking, leading a team and balancing advocacy. 

The diverse cohort was selected from nominations and interviews conducted in 2022. The group started their journey together in October with a kick-off and action learning project assignments. Since then, they participated in four days of professional development, completed a self-assessment, participated in coaching sessions and worked together in discrete subgroups to address real-life campus issues through action learning projects.  

"As we work to enhance the university's status as an employer of choice, we want to ensure employees have the tools and resources to build skills, gain valuable experiences and exposure so they can own their career growth and advancement and thrive in both their professional and personal lives," said Michelle Hargis Wolfe, chief people officer. "This program supports our efforts to enable our employees to foster collaborative relationships across campus, engage in impactful work with colleagues from multiple disciplines to solve real-world problems and to gain exposure and key learnings from senior leadership."  

"It was a privilege to see our leaders grow over the past six months, both individually and collectively," said Ashley Ingram, director of talent development. "As we head into the fourth year, we will continue to evaluate the program and make iterative improvements based on feedback and data to best support the university's strategic priorities and the evolving needs of our campus." 

Cohort four of the 2023-24 UARK Leaders Program is slated to begin in October, with nominations opening the summer of 2023. For more information about UARK Leaders, contact Judith Tavano, program coordinator.