PDP@Ten |
“PDP @ Ten,” a leadership conference sponsored by Campus Human Resources, will commemorate the 10-year anniversary of UCLA’s Professional Development Program. The event is open to PDP alumni and current participants only and is being billed as a “Day of Development” in which attendees can renew professional networks, meet alumni from other PDP cohorts and reflect on the impact of the program on their careers.
The May 10 conference, which will feature keynote speakers Jorja Leap,
a lecturer from the School of Public Affairs, and Martin Chemers, professor of psychology at UC Santa Cruz, will culminate with the Staff Honors Reception at the Chancellor’s Residence.
Contact Alejandro Pineda at
apineda@chr.ucla.edu for more
information.
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Room at the top
BY wendy soderburg
Today Staff Writer
In 2000, UCLA was preparing for Tidal Wave II, the anticipated surge in the number of college-bound Californians in the first decade of the 21st century. Six years later, as the frenzy over that mandate has subsided, there’s concern about a new tidal wave — of staff members. And this time, the tide is going out.
Over the last few years, Campus Human Resources (CHR) has tracked UCLA’s staff population and found that 86% of its senior managers and 51% of its management and senior professionals (MSP classification) are eligible for retirement. In hard numbers, that’s 32 out of 37 in the senior management group classification (chancellor, vice chancellors and deans) and 574 out of 1,128 in the MSP group. UC deems “retirement-eligible” anyone who is 50 or older and has at least five years of service credit.
“Admittedly, it’s not a highly precise figure because at 50, most people are not retiring,” said Robert Gibson, director of training and development for CHR. “But it’s not inconsequential, is it?”
The wave is already under way at UCLA, where the number of staff and faculty retirements jumped from 395 in 2004 to 533 in 2005. Demographers have been predicting that retirements among baby boomers will hit corporations and higher education alike in the next few years, leaving everyone short of leadership talent.
To ease the blow, Gibson and his colleagues at CHR are employing a strategy called “succession through development,” in which they are increasingly trying to promote from within. They rely on such means as the 10-year-old Professional Development Program (PDP), a one-year leadership development program for employees in the PSS 2-6 classifications. Participants enhance their professional and management skills, build professional networks and learn about the structure and culture of the university.
“PDP has given us a 10-year head start, because one of its goals is to move people from the professional ranks into the MSP classifications,” Gibson said.
Rosemary Chavoya, executive officer in the psychology department, was in the first PDP class in 1994-’95. Within a few years of completing the program, Chavoya had risen from an SAO II to an MSP IV position, become a PDP mentor and served as Staff Assembly president in 2001-’02.
“PDP has been critical to my advancement, and I doubt I could have achieved the job satisfaction that I have now without it,” Chavoya said. CHR’s goal of developing leadership talent through PDP is “a brilliant plan,” she added, as campus employers increasingly realize that applicants with PDP experience can bring a unique level of awareness about university affairs to the job.
“My message to PDP alumni is that, while the institution sees this as a crisis, as a loss of talent, you should see it as the biggest opportunity in your life,” Gibson said. “As seasoned professionals leave, you will be the leaders that the institution will turn to. So get ready! Invest in yourself now because opportunity is coming.”
Deadline to apply for PDP is May 19. See www.chr.ucla.edu and click on “Training and Development.”
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