SDSU staff programs aim to support professional development

The Staff Development, Advancement and Leadership Area in the Center for Inclusive Excellence is offering a suite of programs for all San Diego State University staff designed to support and expand pathways for their professional development and career impact. 

As aligned with the university strategic plan, the newly established area gathers existing, new and planned programs at SDSU with a mission of supporting staff members at all stages of their careers.

“It is a portfolio of resources, opportunities (and) programs that are specifically designed to cultivate pathways for professional development for staff, in order to enhance equity and inclusion,” said Conor McLaughlin, staff development manager at the Center for Inclusive Excellence, which coordinates the programs from its offices in the Suite 100 in the Professional Studies and Fine Arts building.

“One of my goals is really to have it be a place where people feel empowered to practice leadership, and contribute to the positive development of the university, which people can do from any level of the organizational chart,” McLaughlin said.

CIE has posted additional information about the Staff Development, Advancement and Leadership Area on its website.

One of the five pillars of SDSU's "We Rise We Defy: Transcending Borders, Transforming Lives" strategic plan is "Equity and Inclusion in Everything We Do." That commitment extends to staff development and has resulted in programs making impacts throughout the strategic plan and across the university.

One component is the Career Pathways Program, which McLaughlin said expands existing opportunities assisting staff members interested in gaining the skills needed to move across collective bargaining units. Under normal circumstances, their ability to gain the necessary experience for a new job can be hampered by constraints about what they can and cannot be assigned to do in their current position.

Career Pathways “is designed like a certificate,” McLaughlin said, providing the necessary learning and relevant experience needed, for instance, in an administrative support coordinator position for somebody in a completely different line of work.

It’s in SDSU’s own interests, he noted, to “create the necessary infrastructure so that folks don’t feel the only way to move up is to leave.”

Additional aspects of staff development, advancement and leadership include:

• Customized professional development opportunities for individuals and teams, such as a a program helping employees of public-facing offices to learn how to de-escalate difficult situations
• A “Principles of Supervision” curriculum, developed out of the California State University chancellor’s office, helping staff understand the elements of effective supervision, such as how to cultivate a positive team culture
• The annual Staff Professional Development Conference (faculty and staff are encouraged to register online) scheduled for April 2 at Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union during spring break. The event will include a session with a Q&A about the Area and the Career Pathways program.

“All that we do is framed through an equity-minded lens,” McLaughlin said. “We don’t just view diversity, equity and inclusion as a task that everybody needs to accomplish, we think of it as a way people go about doing their work.”

In doing so, the programs speak to more than just the employees’ interests.

“The goal of a lot of this is to have resources available to support anybody, not just represented staff, not just administrators, but everybody,” McLaughlin said, “so they can continue to meet and exceed the expectations of their positions in ways that align with SDSU’s mission and values and strategic priorities.”