Luoma Leadership Annual Gathering - February 23-24, 2012

I attended this conference both as a graduate of the Luoma Leadership Academy (4th cohort; 2007-08) and as a mentor to a current Leadership Academy participant (Linda Pesch). It was fun to reconnect with colleagues from my cohort as well as other attendees.
Hearing directly from Chancellor Steven Rosenstone was a great way to kick-off this gathering. His talk was entitled "Collaborative Leadership" centered around the Strategic Framework for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. He referenced a book called "It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy" and also made another ship-related analogy when he referred to the system as a fleet indicating we need to be working as a team vs. protecting our own turf. He also talked about the importance of creating a culture where we all work together to be more successful. I was happy to hear he is focused on bridging with K12 to work towards college readiness for students.
After the Chancellor spoke, we broke into "Open Space Conversations on Building Partnerships." The conversation I attended focused on ABE and college-readiness in general.
BREAKOUT I: Expanding Opportunites for Students: Academic Program Partnerships Across the System -- one of the programs highlighted (Child Development) is one that our MnWest faculty takes part in! The other is a new venture between Mesabi Range Community & Technical College and Inver Hills Community College and Construction Management offerings. The focus was on how important it is to reach out to other colleges and see what partnerships can be made to help offer courses/programs to students.
BREAKOUT II: Leveraging Shared Services to Increase Efficiency and Effectiveness -- this was the first I'd heard of the "Campus Service Cooperative" and how some colleges are making arrangements with others to do select business office functions with the emphasis on best practices. I was reminded how our college is moving towards a One-Stop shop for student services; this is a similar model for business services across the system.