Much of the writing and research in change theory is built upon corporate models that don't resonate or even work in higher education environments. Academic institutions need change architects who can plan and execute transitions within decentralized and often silo-oriented cultures with members inclined to remind, "you're not the boss of me."
In this session, Allison Vaillancourt will discuss how lessons from social revolutions and crowdsourcing campaigns can be used to navigate change in college and university settings.
About Allison Vaillancourt
Allison M. Vaillancourt, Ph.D. serves as Vice President of Business Affairs & Human Resources at the University of Arizona where she also holds faculty appointments in the UA School of Government and Public Policy and the Honors College. In addition to business affairs strategy, Dr. Vaillancourt's portfolio includes:
- Arizona Public Media radio, TV, and digital services
- The Division of Human Resources
- Institutional Equity and Title IX programs
- Risk Management
Under her guidance, the University of Arizona has been nationally recognized for building a community of leaders, creating an inclusive organizational culture, offering award-winning work/life programs, and harnessing the wisdom of faculty, staff, students, and community members to inform policies, programs, and administrative simplicity initiatives. She writes about career and organizational culture issues as a regular Chronicle of Education contributor and maintains a consulting and executive coaching practice.
Dr. Vaillancourt currently serves on the Association of American Universities Human Resources Institute board of directors and College and University Professional Association for Human Resources' (CUPA-HR) National Public Policy Committee. She also leads leadership programs for the American Association of Medical Colleges, National Association for College and University Business Officers, Western Association of College and University Business Officers Business Management Institute. She is a past national chair of CUPA-HR's national board of directors and a past president of the Society for Human Resources Management of Greater Tucson. During her two-year term as chair of the Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona, the Foundation doubled its grant making and launched a nationally recognized advocacy program to support women and families.
Dr. Vaillancourt received a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in public policy and administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado-Denver's School of Public Affairs. She began her career as a journalist and fundraiser before joining higher education.