Associate Professor Sandra Daack-Hirsch, PhD, RN, was recently selected as a 2017-18 Fellow of the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) Academic Leadership Program.

The BTAA is a consortium of the Big Ten universities guided by the provosts of the member universities. For more than a half a century, these world-class research institutions have advanced their academic missions, generated unique opportunities for students and faculty, and served the common good by sharing expertise, leveraging campus resources and collaborating on innovative programs.

The alliance’s Academic Leadership Program (ALP) is one of the longest-serving professional development programs offered by the BTAA. All member institutions participate in the program. This intensive professional development experience develops the leadership and managerial skills of individuals who have demonstrated exceptional ability and administrative promise. The primary goal of the program is to help a select group of talented and diverse faculty or staff further develop their ability to be effective academic leaders at all levels of research universities. Since its inception, more than 1,400 participants have completed the program.

Dr. Daack-Hirsch was one of only five UI faculty who were named to this newest list of BTAA ALP fellows. The other UI members were: David Cunning, professor and department chair in philosophy, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Amy Kristof-Brown, professor of management and organizations in the Tippie College of Business; Corinne Peek-Asa, professor of occupational and environmental health and associate dean for research in the College of Public Health; and, Shaun Vecera, professor of psychology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

According to the BTAA, each member institution establishes its own recruitment and selection process for identifying five fellows to participate in the program each year. Fellows are executive-level staff or tenured faculty with varying levels and types of administrative and leadership experience. Fellows are appointed for terms of one year and are expected to participate fully in the program by attending ALP seminars and engaging in all aspects of campus activities.

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