On Friday, Nov. 30, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Dean Cathy Lysack hosted a Women of Science gathering of faculty and post-doctoral students doing research in EACPHS.

"It was a wonderful kick-off, and more such opportunities will be planned for the new year," Lysack said of the event.

One topic discussed at the event was how to achieve necessary and meaningful goals in the context of very busy work and family lives. Another was understanding how important "soft skills" are to being successful in academic environments, particularly leadership positions.

Annmarie Cano, Wayne State associate provost of faculty development and faculty success (shown with the dean at right), was a special guest. Cano addressed these topics and shared a variety of information and resources her office provides to all faculty.

These include:

National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) membership for graduate students, faculty and academic staff. Activating your membership gives you access to webinars, skill-building courses, writing challenges, a private discussion forum for peer-mentoring and problem-solving, a full library of previous webinars and courses, and more.

In-person seminars, faculty coffee hours and chair chats sponsored by the Provost's Office. These are offered year-round, including an upcoming Jan. 10 event on how to plan your semester.

A new WSU Academic Leadership Academy, launching in February. This exciting venture aims to provide a structured training program to build skilled leaders from within. The hope is to identify and develop strong talent to become the next generation of program directors, department chairs and even deans.

Lysack invites members of the college to contact her with ideas for building academic leadership skills. "If you'd like to volunteer and lead these types of activities, please don't hesitate to reach out. I know there is a great deal of expertise to tap within our own halls."