McNamara Honored As Fellow In SEC Academic Leadership Development Program
Dr. Ann McNamara, professor and associate dean for research and creative works in the Texas A&M School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts, is participating this semester as a fellow for the Southeastern Conference Academic Leadership Development Program.
Four Texas A&M professors were selected to take part in the development program, which strives to advance academic leaders within all 14 SEC institutions.
“It was an honor to be nominated,” McNamara said following the announcement. “There are so many different deserving faculty across the whole university, and to be picked is a great honor.”
The members participate in two workshops and a competitive fellowship to provide administrative growth opportunities to program alumni. Texas A&M hosted the fall workshop in October, and the University of Missouri will host the spring workshop Feb. 21-23.
McNamara joined the Visualization program in 2008 and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses. Her research studies expand on the experiences of creating, viewing and interacting with virtual and augmented spaces.
She is a founding co-chair of the Symposium on Applied Perception. She has been a Presidential Impact Fellow, and received a Distinguished Achievement Teaching Award from The Association of Former Students.
During the October workshop, McNamara said the four fellows from each SEC school were able to see the exciting things Texas A&M has to offer.
“It was wonderful to experience and a great opportunity to meet the other fellows in similar roles across different SEC universities,” she said. “After having been here for 15 years, to see Texas A&M through the perspective of visitors was incredible.”
Members of the Office of the Provost highlighted what Texas A&M is doing to ensure student success, McNamara said. Members of The Association of Former Students led a discussion about connecting former students to their alma mater.
Other topics included how to make decisions based on budgets, understanding leadership for provosts and Faculty Affairs and the scope of college athletics.
“We learned a lot about the athletics program and how important athletics is to the university,” McNamara said. “We learned that if you want to be a leader in an SEC institution, you have to understand the organization and culture that surrounds athletics.”
The SEC leadership program celebrates the idea that collaboration is key, McNamara said. During the workshop, visitors from other universities offered thoughtful insights into processes and procedures A&M utilizes that they could apply to their day-to-day operations, she said.
The four Texas A&M SEC fellows have a monthly leadership lunch with leaders from Faculty Affairs, McNamara said. Their discussions cover leadership styles and mindsets, effective communication, cultivating resilience and opportunities for growth.
During one leadership luncheon, each fellow identified their strengths and how to implement them. McNamara said she learned her strength lies in being strategic, and she hopes to utilize that moving forward.
“How can I put faculty together in a way that allows them to have a strategic path?” she said. “How do I build resources for programming or identify opportunities for faculty so they can grow their research programs in the future? I think that is something I can lean into during this fellowship.”
Photo by Glen Vigus.
