Faculty Affairs

Big Ten Academic Alliance: Academic Leadership Program

BigTen Alliance Group Photo

The Big Ten Academic Alliance Academic Leadership Program (BTAA-ALP) is a year-long extensive leadership development program that is designed to expand the leadership and managerial skills of faculty who have demonstrated exceptional ability and administrative promise. It is specifically oriented to prepare faculty members to meet the challenges of academic administration at major research universities in the 21 st century. The Big Ten Academic Alliance is an academic consortium of Big Ten universities. More details about the BTAA-ALP goals and objectives can be found at the following sites:

BTAA-ALP at Purdue University

Each year, Purdue competitively selects up to five faculty members to participate in the BTAA-ALP. One of these spaces for the 2024-2025 cohort is reserved for a Mellon Fellow selected from a faculty member in the humanities. The chosen fellows meet weekly with administrators on the Purdue campus to learn more about roles, responsibilities, challenges, and leadership strategies on a weekly basis.

Additionally, there are BTAA-wide seminars scheduled throughout the academic year. The in-person 3-day seminars rotate among the Big Ten Academic Alliance universities. For 2024-2025 they are:

  • November 7-9 at University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • February 6-8 at the Big Ten Conference Center in Rosemont, IL
  • April 3-5 at Rutgers University-New Brunswick
The current calendar of events can be viewed at  Big Ten Academic Alliance-ALP Calendar of Events. Fellows are expected to fully participate in all in-person and online activities.

Current and previous Purdue Fellows in the BTAA-ALP are available at the following sites:

Mellon Academic Leadership Fellow

The Big Ten Academic Alliance secured a Mellon Grant to support one tenured member from the humanities, disciplines listed below, to participate as a Mellon Academic Leadership Fellow. Mellon Fellows will participate in the Big Ten Academic Alliance Academic Leadership Program in the first year of their two-year fellowship. In the second year, Mellon Fellows will complete an administrative/academic fellowship in a university-wide office, most typically in the Office of the Provost or equivalent, while also participating in additional meetings with other Big Ten Mellon Fellows. For 2024-2025 there will be a Mellon Fellows Workshop on April 2, 2025 at Rutgers Univiersity-New Brunswick (a day before the full fellows seminar).

For the Mellon Fellowship, disciplines included in the humanities are broadly defined using this list as a guide:

  • Anthropology
  • Communication (theoretical focus)
  • Comparative Literature
  • Language and Cultural Studies
  • English
  • History 
  • Philosophy
  • Political Science
  • Sociology
  • Theater (theoretical focus)

Application Process

Nomination materials must be electronically submitted to the Office of the Provost at facultyaffairs@purdue.edu no later than Monday, March 10, 2025 for the 2025-2026 cohort. Please combine the following materials into one pdf document titled ‘faculty last name_ALP nomination’ for submission:

  • A biographical statement (one-page limit) describing their career trajectory and experience most relevant to the BTAA-ALP.
  • Applicant letter of interest (three-page limit) stating why they want to participate in the ALP and including: a brief description of their leadership trajectory (where they have been and where they want to go) and an overview of the issues they view as critical for higher education leaders.
  • Letter of recommendation and support from the applicant’s direct supervisor (head or dean) and endorsed by the dean.
  • Fellows are expected to attend and fully participate in all in-person and online sessions and are asked as part of the application process to include a statement of acknowledgement that they are available to attend the weekly on-campus meetings (Tuesday afternoons from 2:30-3:30) and scheduled seminars.
  • A complete curriculum vitae.

Fellows are selected based on their demonstrated potential for and interest in academic administration, endorsement from their college leadership, and willingness to commit the time needed to benefit from the year-long program. Having a formal leadership role is not a criterion for selection but will strengthen the application. Attention is given to the frequency of each college’s previous participation in the program, and preference will be shown to applicants who have not participated in a Faculty Affairs leadership program in the last 3 years. The 2025-2026 Fellows will be recommended to the Provost following a review process that includes former Big Ten Academic Alliance Fellows, and selected participants will be announced in mid-April. No more than five Fellows from each of the member universities are chosen to participate in the program.

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