The learning and development team in UNC Charlotte’s Human Resources Department has received the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) 2014 Excellence in Human Resource Practices Award.
The team, comprised of Joanna Roop, employee learning and development manager, and learning and development specialists Kathy Hurst and Jules Keith-Le, is being honored for developing the Leadership Experience program.
“It is so important for our institutions to invest in the meaningful development of their leaders and future leaders,” said CUPA-HR Awards Committee Chair Brian Dickens. “By focusing on competencies, collaboration and personal and professional development, UNC Charlotte’s Leadership Experience program not only helps individuals grow as leaders and change agents, but also enables the university to cultivate the kinds of leaders that best fit with its culture, goals and mission.”
UNC Charlotte’s learning and development team set out to design a new competency-based leadership development program in 2012. Dubbed the Leadership Experience, the program’s curriculum is aligned with skills needed to develop core leadership competencies such as strategic leadership, coaching and delegation, change management and staff development. The program allows participants to develop personal strategies for leadership success, network with peers, share best practices, interact with University leaders and participate in a 360-degree assessment of their leadership strengths and opportunities. The capstone of the program is a team-based project focused on the employee life cycle and the manager’s role within it.
“The Leadership Experience program is designed to build skills incrementally, provide a direct link to day-to-day job responsibilities, encourage partnerships between leaders and their managers and support the vision and values of the university,” said Roop. “Thanks to this new program, we now have a targeted path for our leaders in creating a cadence for their leadership journey.”
The Excellence in Human Resource Practices Award, which will be presented formally at the association’s annual conference on Sept. 29 in San Antonio, Texas, recognizes the achievements of college and university HR professionals or teams in improving the quality of programs and services on their campuses through effective HR administration practices. Through the support of VALIC, CUPA-HR will make a $3,000 contribution to UNC Charlotte’s endowment or a scholarship fund of the team’s choice.
CUPA-HR, headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., serves higher education by providing learning and professional development programs, higher education salary and benefits data, extensive online resources and just-in-time regulatory and legislative information. More than 17,000 HR professionals and other campus leaders are members at 1,900-plus organizations around the country and abroad.
Photo: Jules Keith-Le, Joanna Roop and Kathy Hurst