CASE Presents: Collaborative Leadership in Action-The American University of Paris: Presentation

The American University of Paris: Presentation

Pdf Summary

The American University of Paris (AUP) addressed a common university challenge: faculty and staff care deeply about their work but rarely interact across roles. To strengthen community and belonging, AUP expanded an existing event into a shared faculty-staff retreat focused on dialogue and connection aligned with the university’s strategic goals.<br /><br />The retreat had three main objectives: build alignment around AUP’s strategic direction, strengthen community and belonging across faculty and staff, and recognize contributions while highlighting leadership engagement. Key design principles included shared topics and experiences, visible leadership throughout the day, emphasis on active participation over passive listening, and creating belonging through both meaningful content and informal interactions.<br /><br />The program featured a welcoming session, a strategic plan update, discussions on “What is Good Learning at AUP?”, followed by lunch. Subsequent workshops were designed to include staff and faculty together around relevant topics such as AI and student success, alongside lighter ateliers like art, music, fitness, and cheese tasting. The day concluded with visual note reveals and a reception with live music. Leadership presence was intentionally woven throughout for visibility and engagement.<br /><br />The experience was highly rated, with an overall score of 4.5 out of 5 and 85% of sessions receiving positive evaluations.<br /><br />Five key takeaways emerged: <br />1) Form a diverse organizing committee with faculty and staff; <br />2) Base the retreat on a shared institutional question; <br />3) Design sessions to intentionally mix faculty and staff; <br />4) Ensure leadership is visible and engaged; <br />5) Balance substantive content with informal activities to foster connections and encourage participation.<br /><br />This approach successfully opened dialogue across roles, strengthened belonging, and demonstrated a model for integrated university community building.

Keywords

American University of Paris

faculty-staff retreat

community building

university strategic goals

faculty and staff engagement

shared institutional question

leadership visibility

active participation

interdisciplinary workshops

university belonging