NLA Fellows Program Curriculum
From the beginning, the New Leadership Academy has been committed to demonstrating how leadership development must evolve in order to address the changing competencies, skills, and compassion needed to lead higher education institutions in the twenty-first century. The relevance of this approach has become increasingly important as our country and institutions of higher education grapple with changing student demographics, social challenges, and a changing higher education landscape.
The curriculum and learning strategies of the New Leadership Academy Fellows Program (NLA) draw upon traditional leadership theory and contemporary scholarship that investigates the roles of leaders under highly contested and complex conditions. This pedagogical approach empowers institutional and organizational leaders with the knowledge, tools, and courage needed to lead effectively on their campuses and across the system of higher education. The NLA experience is organized around a specific and informed set of core competencies, which have been determined through the input of professional organizations, scholars, and practitioners. The core competencies are reviewed and updated through a cycle of curriculum evaluation and iterative improvement.
NLA Fellows Program
Figure 1: Ecological Model
The NLA Fellows program is a 6-month curriculum that includes online materials and engagement, executive coaching, and collaboration opportunities. Additionally, each cohort attends the 5-day Summer Institute, a residential session hosted in June 2025 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. During their time at the Summer Institute, Fellows work in small teams with a highly experienced Facilitator to process learning modules that examine topics within leadership and higher education. Curriculum is informed by the research and leadership work of scholars in this area, as well as the NLA Advisory Board and NLA Alumni.
During the course of the Fellows Program, Fellows engage in a range of interactive modules which include presentations and workshops, consultations with esteemed leaders in higher education, live case studies, group discussions, and individual reflections. Organized around several carefully chosen heuristics, the NLA curriculum employs a number of instructional and analytical paradigms, such as the ecological model (Figure 1), which provide a representation of connections between individuals, institutions, and society. Each learning module has been designed to consider one or more aspects of this ecology, to address the required leadership skills, and to support Fellows in overcoming barriers and enacting equitable practices across the ecology.
NLA Summer Institute
The Summer Institute curriculum is organized so that each day’s learning modules build upon the team and individual work done by the Fellows leading up to and during the Institute. Each team has the opportunity to assess a particular institutional setting informed by the activities and learning strategies provided throughout the NLA Fellows Program. Both the residential session and the online collaborations have been tested with a range of previous participants, achieving high receptivity and significant learning outcomes related to the core competencies.
Fellows should be prepared to view themselves as co-constructors of their own learning as it will be the experiences, perspectives, relationships, and insights of the participants that ultimately inform and enhance the overall experience.