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K-State Today

January 23, 2015

Lilja accepted for the APLU Food Systems Leadership Institute

Submitted by Elaine Edwards

Nina Lilja

Nina Lilja, associate dean, international programs, in the College of Agriculture, was accepted for the fall 2014 Food Systems Leadership Institute, or FSLI, an executive leadership development program for academia, industry and government.

The institute enhances personal and professional development by emphasizing leadership competencies, skills for organizational change and a broad, interdisciplinary perspective of food systems. The institute experience prepares scholars for upper-level leadership roles in food system programs, and to assume broader leadership responsibilities within their organizations.

During the two-year program, scholars work with expert instructors, leadership development coaches, and an upper-level mentor to help increase their leadership abilities. They meet with leaders of universities, political leaders, industry leaders and others who have advanced to the highest levels of leadership. Leadership theory is combined with practical experience, often in the context of food systems and higher education.

Year one includes intensive executive education-style residential learning sessions at three university locations. Scholars perform assessments to increase awareness of their leadership style, and develop and implement a personal development plan. Interactive distance learning is used between residential sessions. During year two, participants apply what they have learned to develop and carry out an individual leadership project.

The institute is dedicated to advancing and strengthening food systems by preparing a set of new leaders with the skills and knowledge necessary to invent and reinvent the food systems of the future. It is a program of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities with initial funding provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.