Inside Clemson

President’s Leadership Institute application deadline is Friday

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By Jackie Todd, Office of University Relations

Kimberly Poole is an educator who loves to learn. The associate dean of students loves to challenge herself to do more and to be more in her career.

That’s why Poole and 24 other university staff members are participating in the President’s Leadership Institute. Introduced last year, the 10-month program exposes Clemson’s faculty and staff to all aspects of the university’s operations, presents opportunities to interact with senior leaders and allows them to participate in activities designed to build leadership skills, broaden their perspectives, create invaluable networks and prepare them to pursue additional roles at Clemson.

Poole enjoys the fact that the Institute challenges participants to stretch beyond their comfort zones.

“The program allowed me to really challenge myself,” she explained. “I don’t know that I anticipated that. I was ready to grow and learn, but with that comes an opportunity to realize that some things might have to change. I’m learning more about my leadership style, learning more about working with different personalities and different groups of people, so that’s actually been really good. But I’m also learning about the institution because I’ve been around here almost 20 years as a student and employee, so to understand areas outside of my day-to-day interactions, outside of my area has been great.”

Pic of Marieke VanPuymbroeckMarieke VanPuymbroeck thinks the program has been the most enlightening thing in her academic career. A professor and recreational therapy coordinator in the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences, VanPuymbroeck found value in learning about decision-making and leadership styles from leaders across the university – even from Jim Clements himself.

 “I really like the message that President Clements and others have shared that it takes courage to make the right decisions and make the hard decisions,” she said. “Prior to this, that wasn’t necessarily at the forefront of what I was thinking. I thought that people just made decisions and they move forward, but the whole authentic leadership and leading from the heart in doing the right thing takes courage. That’s been a really valuable lesson.”

IMG_1200While participants are excited about the program, so are the university’s leaders. Especially Jim Clements.

“You’ve got a great group here of 25 faculty and staff members who are really incredible and really impressive with so much talent and so much potential,” he said. “When we launched this, it was to expose a greater group to leadership, to the issues within higher education, to national higher education issues, to talk about different leadership styles and to be more exposed beyond our domain. So to go down to Charleston and see our campus, to go to Columbia and learn about the political system, to meet with donors and learn about what motivates them, it’s been a broad experience and I’m really happy with what I am seeing.”

How to apply

The deadline for nominations for the president’s leadership program is Friday. Those who want to be considered as a participant should notify their college dean, senior administrator or Executive Leadership Team member in their respective areas.

What’s in it for you

For those who are on the fence about their participation, Kimberly Poole has a message for them.

“Do it. Apply. It’s worth every moment of time you give. It’s long days and busy days and you have to rearrange your calendar sometimes, but it’s worth doing it because it allows you to grow personally and professionally and ultimately give back to the institution, your staff and the students you work with. I say it’s worth every moment of your time.”

So does Marieke VanPuymbroeck.

“We were able to hear from leaders from across the university about their leadership style, experience and philosophies. There’s a lot of encouragement to incorporate those kinds of things into our daily life, whether we pursue an administrative position or not. I think it’s making us all better members of the Clemson community.”

For more information, contact Kyra Lobbins, director of the President’s Leadership and Strategic Initiatives. Lobbins is responsible for the President’s Leadership Institute and recently transitioned from Athletics to assume additional strategic responsibilities in the President’s office.