Administrative Management Institute Participants Value Application of Knowledge and Skills

Judy L. Langworthy touts AMI as "the best professional development conference I have ever attended." After participating in this year’s Administrative Management Institute (AMI), Langworthy returned to her department, ready to apply new knowledge and skills to daily challenges.

Langworthy, Director of State Accounting at SUNY Fredonia in Fredonia, New York, was one of dozens of administrative managers and supervisors from around the country who came together at Cornell University July 24–29 to participate in the thirteenth annual Administrative Management Institute.

For over a decade, this acclaimed five-day institute, co-sponsored by EACUBO, has been providing managers with an extremely valuable and comprehensive opportunity to gain the skills, background, and perspectives they need to succeed in their evolving roles as well as a framework for interpreting current trends. Participants appreciated the presenters' focus on applying knowledge gained at AMI to daily challenges.

AMI participant Cornelia D. Mead, Assistant Dean in the Watson School of Engineering at Binghamton University also benefited a lot from this year’s institute. "The presenters assessed their audience, and pitched their presentations perfectly. The informative sessions had good solid information, and the sessions were very inspirational," said Mead.

Through workshops, case studies, and interactive sessions, the institute seeks to expand participants’ awareness of changes, trends, and issues shaping the work of unit managers and their institutions; help them update and develop technical skills and knowledge; and provide them with detailed and immediate practical applications. In addition, participants have the opportunity to hear, question, and interact with senior university administrators and exemplary administrative managers.

"I was especially impressed by the breadth of the program," said Tracy S. Parkinson, Associate Dean of Faculty in Academic Affairs at King College in Bristol, Tennessee. "It effectively covered several different topics relevant to higher education, which was one of the things that first attracted me to the program. I left with a long list of things to try to accomplish on my campus."

This year's Institute highlights included an in-depth workshop on building leadership skills and managing change, presented by Thomas J. Champoux, executive vice president of The Effectiveness Institute, Inc.; and a stimulating interactive theatre session addressing diversity/inclusion education and training in the workplace, presented by the Cornell Interactive Theatre Ensemble (CITE). Other topics included leading change in a values-based culture, current topics in employment law, risk management, sponsored programs, fiduciary responsibility, and negotiation essentials.

Kenneth J. Kline, Business Systems and Financial Planning Manager in the Information Technologies department at Cornell University returned to his department, ready to apply new skills to daily challenges. "The most valuable element of the program was its focus on real-life situations and application," Kline said. "The interactive sessions allowed me to reflect on how I would handle the situation presented and enabled me to see all sides of the story."

For more information about next year's institute, set for July 23–28, 2006, or to reserve a space now, contact the Administrative Management Institute, Cornell University, Box 533, B20 Day Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-2801; Telephone: 607 255-7259; Fax: 607 255-9687; E-mail: cusp@cornell.edu; Web: www.sce.cornell.edu/ami