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 from July 30-Aug. 3.

Thirty-three participants, including cabinet members and other top state government executives, will attend the four-and-a-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,” Gov. Brad Henry said.

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 of 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."

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 Henry, OSU System CEO and President David Schmidly and Dean Sara Freedman of the Spears School of Business.