Larry Milliken, Libraries’ Manager for Learning Partnerships, Accepted to DL2020 Program
January 4, 2019
In December, Larry Milliken, the Drexel Libraries’ Manager for Learning Partnerships and Liaison Librarian for Humanities and Social Sciences, was accepted to the seventh cohort of Drexel Leaders 2020.
Drexel Leaders 2020 (DL2020) helps experienced leaders at Drexel University expand their leadership capabilities. It is a development program for mid-career leaders that focuses on challenges and opportunities common for leaders at this point in their careers.
Each year, fewer than 20 Drexel faculty and professional staff are selected for this competitive program. Candidates have five or more years of management experience and must be nominated by their Senior Vice President, Department Head or Dean.
“Dean Nitecki nominated me for the program, and it’s an honor to be selected for the 2019 cohort,” said Larry Milliken, who begins the program in mid-January 2019. “More and more, my role at Drexel involves working with faculty and campus administrators outside the Libraries and outside the campus units I normally support as a liaison librarian. The Drexel 2020 program is a great opportunity for me to improve my management and leadership skills so I can effectively communicate the Libraries’ vision and lead the Libraries staff–and other members of the Drexel community–through change.”
Throughout the five-month program, participants attend in-person workshops where they will explore topics such as imperatives of effective leadership, emotional intelligence, diversity and inclusion, navigating transformational change and more.
Throughout the program, DL2020 participants use assessment results to reflect on their leadership practices and create action plans for future development.
For Milliken, sharing experiences and connecting with other members of the Drexel community is another important aspect of DL2020.
“For me, the main draw of the program is learning new management and leadership skills in a cohort of people from across the University,” he said. “Building a network of peers and learning from their experiences and sharing my own ideas is a great way to grow and learn.”
Since its inception in 2013, six cohorts and over 100 Drexel leaders have completed the DL2020 program, contributing to the creation of a shared perspective on leadership at Drexel and building a common vocabulary among participants.