March 1, 2024
Faculty and staff play essential roles in academia. They are leaders in research, education, and innovation across disciplines. The recently established School of Computing and Information (SCI) Learning Academy provides faculty and staff with the opportunity to exhibit their leadership skills and apply them to make meaningful change at SCI. The first cohort of faculty and staff members who will complete the Learning Academy this spring gathered to compete in a “Shark Tank”-themed pitch session on Feb. 22 at SCI’s 130 N. Bellefield Avenue location.
Team projects encouraged collaboration, stimulated innovation at SCI, and provided faculty and staff with the feedback and support of experienced advisors. The following projects were presented at the pitch session:
- Pitch session winner iIDEAL (pictured right), developed by Thais Safe Carneiro, Balaji Palanisamy, and Jenn Welton, focused on community building for faculty and staff, including celebrating accomplishments, holidays, birthdays, and welcoming new employees during onboarding.
- Second-place project SCI UBelong, developed by Mackenzie Ball, Lynnsey Doane, and Rachel Parkes, focused on incoming first-year students and emphasized retention in SCI and fostering SCI community among students.
- Third place project mySCI, developed by Matt Barbosa, Luis de Oliveira, and Jessica Watson, focused on creating a one-stop-shop for SCI faculty, staff, and students to reduce duplicate information and centralize resources.
The Learning Academy teams presented their projects to four advisors (pictured right):
- Denise Callihan (SCI '92): Manager, Library Shared Services, PPG Industries, Member of SCI Alumni Board
- Nate Homitsky (SCI ’07, KATZ ’16): VP of Business Operations, Aerotech, Inc.
- Robert Jordan (SCI '93): Member of SCI Board of Visitors
- Mark Shozda (SCI '80, G '92): Former CTO/CIO, F.N.B. Corporation (Retired), Member of SCI Alumni Board
- Roseanne Silva: Senior Vice President, Security Director, PNC Bank
SCI also received the support of corporate partners Aerotech, PPG, and PNC. The pitch session concluded with an awards ceremony and reception.
SCI Dean Bruce Childers developed the Learning Academy in spring of 2023 along with Julie Staggs, a consultative executive in higher education.
"It was exciting to partner with Dean Childers in developing the Learning Academy to align with his vision of the importance of developing faculty and staff,” stated Staggs. “Our goals were to provide frameworks that align with the strategic plan and development of SCI, as well as the professional development and career goals of participants. This is a prime opportunity to truly be a collaborator across SCI and challenge both themselves and their SCI colleagues to be their best individually and as a part of SCI.”
Members of the 2023 Learning Academy cohort, like Thais Safe Carneiro, director of professional graduate programs at SCI, have gained valuable knowledge and expertise through their experiences with Learning Academy.
“The exercises we developed during the Learning Academy provided insights into individual communication styles, preferences, and behaviors. Understanding these nuances enabled me to tailor my communication strategies, enhancing teamwork and better understanding other colleagues’ behavior,” declared Carneiro. “Dean Childers’ receptiveness to diverse perspectives made our experience unique. As participants, we were able to work on the projects of our choice, addressing interpersonal and institutional issues in our school, approaching them from an internal stakeholders’ angle, and proposing solutions rooted in our group's perspective.”
Another member of the 2023 cohort, Matt Barbosa (pictured left), pointed out how his experience allowed him to be creative and explore new ideas when developing his project.
“The program not only opens doors to support exciting new ideas, collaboration, and professional development, but also bridges faculty and staff who would normally not interface, enabling each group to leverage the unique talents of the other. Participating in this program allowed us to engage in enriching discussions among the teams and with our advisors,” said Barbosa. “Beyond the value of this professionally, it was actually fun to experience the shark tank pitches. Everyone seemed to be rooting for each other and in the end, we were all equally excited about all initiatives!”
SCI faculty and staff are excited to see the progression of the Learning Academy and its future cohorts.
“Other colleagues should participate in the program because this is a chance to propose change, innovation and improvement in a sustainable manner,” remarked Carneiro. “The next cohorts can bring their perspectives and solutions to address working and interpersonal issues within SCI. And this is great!”
Read more about the Learning Academy here.
--Alyssa Morales
Learning Academy 2023 project SCI UBelong