When academic units face challenges of internal conduct and governance, it can undermine their abilities to fulfill their missions of teaching, research, and service. Assessing and assisting these units to return to vibrancy and vigor can be complex.

The Transforming Challenged Units Consortium creates, curates, and houses resources in a central repository accessible to members, organizes regular conferences for member institutions, and pursues selected small research projects to support these stewards in assisting challenged units.

The Transforming Challenged Units Consortium is headed by an elected Executive Committee of high-level academic leaders with extensive experience in restoring challenged academic units to vibrancy.  The Executive Committee and other experts supporting the Consortium do not provide direct interventions; instead, the Transforming Challenged Units Consortium brings institutional stewards together, and connects them with supporting resources.

Through membership, institutions gain access to NCPRE resources and strategies, as well as the opportunity to work with NCPRE staff and affiliated experts in invitation-only working conferences for institutional leaders who are dealing with challenged units and who want effective strategies for tackling these challenges. Each conference includes a limited number of selected attendees who bring their experience and wisdom to collaborative discussions on the challenges faced.  Participants are guided through the development of problem-focused strategies based on our experience with effective practices, tailored to the particulars of each case.

Click here for an informational flyer about the Consortium. Our upcoming annual conference, Transforming Challenged Units will occur from March 21-22, 2024 in Chicago, IL.  For more details, please contact us at ethicsctr@illinois.edu or 217-333-1416.

We have provided an academic diagnostic tool, called AUDiT, that you can use to get started on understanding your unit’s relative health. You can also read our recent publication, Academic Leadership Development.