Librarians Selected for Provost’s Leadership Academy
Two University of Houston librarians were chosen for the 2020-21 UH Cougar Chairs Leadership Academy (CCLA).
Rachel Helbing and Ariana Santiago are participating in the program launched by Paula Myrick Short, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at UH, to cultivate leadership talent that will engender student success by scaffolding faculty achievement.
Helbing, who is the director of library services for the health sciences, said the knowledge learned in CCLA has helped her to better know herself and will ultimately lead to a more dynamic and service-oriented library that meets the needs of UH students in new and improved ways.
“One key takeaway for me is that we can lead with our strengths,” Helbing said. “Everyone has existing strengths that enable them to be leaders. We should find and nurture the complementary strengths in our colleagues in order to have a well-rounded organization.”
Santiago, open educational resources coordinator, said that CCLA has strengthened her understanding of leadership styles, emotional intelligence, and teamwork.
“Applying these lessons to my work with open educational resources, and throughout the Libraries, helps us continually support students and the UH community,” she said. “It’s important to think about what people need from leaders–qualities like trust, compassion, stability, and hope. This has really resonated with me throughout CCLA and led me to reflect on how I meet those needs.”