Management
Academy lauds grads
By Laurie
Mellas Ramirez
More than
40 diligent staff made history this month as the inaugural class
of the new nine-month UNM Management Academy. A graduation ceremony
was hosted last week by the sponsoring department, Employee
and Organizational Development.
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Management
Academy Inaugural Class
Ralph
Alires
Marlene Ballejos
Sally Bowler-Hill
Carolyn Cosentino
Louise Chavez
Mary Denison
Kathryn Doodeman
Amy Dunlap
Randy Erwin
Estelle Estrada
Jorge Garcia
Kimberly Golden
Patricia Gonzales
Pamela Gorden
Shannon Griego
Vanessa Harris
Heather Harwick
Robert Hogan
Roberta Innan
Roxanne Jarrard
Connie Jefferson
Kristle Kugler
Donna Kay Lasusky
Christina Lujan
Sandy Lujan
Sharon Harrison-Barrens
Gina Maes
Lola Neudecker
Shelley Newman
Susan Quintana
Dianna Ranville
Karin Retskin
Mark Reynolds
Yolanda Sanchez
Donald Sollami
Yvonne Sanchez
Todd Singletary
Willard Talbott III
Gary Vanderhoof
Karen Wells
Antoinette Willis
Elizabeth Yannoni
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Current
managers and employees aspiring to managerial positions earned
a management mastery certificate.
An
incredible amount of work was required of participants. They
make a real commitment to the program, said Anne Mayer,
human resource development manager and academy director, adding
that graduates will work across main/branch campuses to foster
a new management culture.
The
academy educates managers who can bring balance to the workplace.
An effective manager is able to balance the needs of the organization
with those of his or her staff and encourages individual growth
while also achieving work goals, she said.
Although
the concept isnt new, Mayer said, the message might be.
Managers
tend to favor one or the other of these aspects meeting
the needs of the employee or of the organization. We have not
offered full, comprehensive training on balancing the needs
of both, Mayer said.
Word of
the academys success swept across campus earlier this
year. Some 100 applicants vied for spots in the current session,
which has 43 participants and began in August.
Last October,
the Human Resources Department changed minimum requirements
for several management positions eliminating the need for bachelors
degrees and requiring more management skills. The academy was
developed in part to assist staff in attaining necessary qualifications
to be competitive for these positions.
Academy
curriculum is specific to UNM policies and focuses on how to
effectively manage and coach university employees.
Students
spent two full workdays each month in the classroom, had extensive
homework assignments, and, on average, dedicated about 20 hours
completing the comprehensive exam that led to the certificate.
Mayer provided
individual feedback after the course to help students recognize
strengths and areas that need improvement. The exam was
to ensure that students not only attended the sessions, but
that they grasped the concepts, Mayer said.
Yolanda
Sanchez is an academy success story.
We
are all so proud of Yolanda, Mayer said. With the
help of her Management Academy certification, she was recently
hired as a department administrator II in Civil Engineering
a four-grade promotion. Without the change in minimum
requirements and her participation in the Management Academy,
she would not have qualified for this position. Yvonne shared
at the graduation ceremony that the academy curriculum helped
her attain, and be successful in, her new position.
Assistant
to the Staff Council Karin Retskin, a graduate who during the
academy helped develop the group presentation Where do
we grow from here? hopes to organize an alumni association.
This
is a good networking group, Retskin said. Graduates
will continue to work together.
There
is a lot of seriousness here, but a lot of laughter, too. Just
like management, Mayer said.