OSU-Stillwater to host Governor's first Executive Development program
Tuesday, August 1, 2006
The William S. Spears School of Business will host the first Governor’s Executive
Development program on the Oklahoma State University campus in Stillwater July 30
- Aug. 3. Thirty-three participants including cabinet members and other top executives
in state government will attend the four and one-half day session which will be co-hosted
by the Michael F. Price College of Business at the University of Oklahoma in cooperation
with the State Office of Personnel Management.
“We’re excited about providing this type of program to state agency leaders. It is
uniquely designed for top executives in Oklahoma state government,” said Governor
Brad Henry.
The program is designed around five executive leadership competencies identified by
the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, including leading change, leading people,
results driven, business acumen, and building coalitions and communications, according
to Oscar Jackson, administrator and cabinet secretary of human resources and administration,
State Office of Personnel Management.
“The involvement of the universities in offering the curriculum seemed a natural match
for a program that will provide an opportunity for cabinet members and executive officials
to exchange ideas and learn new skills in an interactive setting,” said Carrie Rohr,
director, Human Resource Development Services. “The hope is that this will be the
first of several Governor’s Executive Development programs that could be held on an
annual basis,” she added.
Topics are “Managing for Effectiveness: The Role of Strategy and Culture,” “Building
Relationships,” “Characteristics of Highly Effective Organizations,” “Emotional Intelligence,”
“Leading Change,” “Legal and Ethical Issues Application,” “Decision Making and Critical
Thinking,” and “Developing Influence and Managing Change in Public Sector Organizations.”
Other sessions address “Good to Great: What’s a Leader to Do?” based on Jim Collin’s
bestselling book along with executive roundtable discussions addressing some of the
top hot topics in government and the state.
Instructors and faculty teaching in these sessions include Dr. John Slocum, Southern
Methodist University; Drs. Raja Basu, Robert Dooley, Ken Eastman, Lee Manzer, and
Debra Nelson, OSU; and Dr. Nim Razook and Professor Emeritus William Weitzel from
OU. This program is coordinated through the OSU Center for Executive and Professional
Development.
The program will end Aug. 3 with an official luncheon graduation ceremony headed by
Governor Henry, OSU System CEO and President David Schmidly and Dean Sara Freedman,
William S. Spears School of Business.