For more than a decade, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) has prepared the next generation of higher education leaders to be effective, compassionate, resilient, accountable and courageous to help all students reach their goals.
UW-Stout Polytechnic Special Assistant to the Provost Chris Engen has been named to this year’s 45-member national cohort, from institutions across more than 20 states.
The ELP program supports the development of mid-senior career higher education professionals as they strengthen their capabilities, broaden their networks, and contribute to the future of their institutions and the students they serve. Participants explore key topics, including strategic communication, project management, organizational change and the development of a personal leadership approach.
Engen is grateful for this professional development opportunity and honored to be representing UW-Stout Polytechnic among a distinguished group of colleagues from other regional and national public universities. “ELP provides a unique, impactful setting to build upon and leverage my previous experience while gaining new knowledge and skills for application to our current initiatives. I look forward to exchanging ideas and best practices with the other ELP cohort members,” he said.
A 30-year U.S. Army veteran (colonel, retired), Engen held a variety of leadership, staff, and faculty positions within the Army’s professional education and training system. Later joining federal civil service, he directed a center that provides workforce education and training within the U.S. Department of Defense.
Seeking to pursue a follow-on career in higher education, Engen joined UW-Stout Polytechnic in 2021, first serving as the Veteran Services coordinator before his current role in the Provost’s Office, which he began last year. He now manages a portfolio of cross-functional projects and initiatives involving interest holders within the university’s Academic Affairs and across campus, while continuing to provide assistance to Veteran Services.
“Chris has an impressive resume of achievements. His skills in project management and systems-thinking, coupled with his dedication to student success, are an asset and have helped move institutional work forward while strengthening relationships across the UW-Stout Polytechnic community,” said Provost Glendalí Rodríguez. “Chris’ interest in pursuing professional development, targeted to the higher education sector, was a clear next step, and I was pleased to endorse his application to the ELP.”
Each ELP cohort member leads a campus-based project or initiative over the course of the academic year, working with a designated advisor. The project will have an impact on the campus community and align with the participant’s professional goals.
With the dynamic changes occurring in the higher education sector and UW-Stout Polytechnic’s commitment to the Baldrige framework, Engen’s project will entail a collaborative review of the university-wide systems for student support and services to identify and act upon opportunities for improvement.
“This long-term project considers the continuing evolution of enrollment across all modalities – in-person, hybrid and fully online – and aims to provide an easily navigable student support and learning experience regardless of enrollment type through agile and streamlined university organization and processes,” he said.
The ELP program began on June 23 with an in-person seminar in Washington, D.C., and will be followed by a series of interactive virtual sessions held throughout the year.
The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), based in Washington, D.C., is a higher education association that represents the sector of over 500 regional public colleges, universities, and systems whose members share a learning- and teaching-centered culture, a historic commitment to serving today’s students, and a dedication to research and creativity that advances their regions’ economic progress and cultural development.
