Recipient of a Valued Award
Regardless of the arenas I enter as a professional, I endeavor to contribute in a new, creative, and helpful manner. And though the designing, orchestrating, and implementing of my projects and the fruits of my contributions are rewarding in themselves, this is the first time I have received a trophy for my service endeavors. It was a great honor. I appreciate the AUI students, staff, and administrators who chose to recognize my contribution.
Acceptance of Two Great Conference Presentations
As one who loves formal education, it is truly rewarding when I can engage in settings that complement my educational background. Thus, the two upcoming conferences listed under the page Scholarship on this site illustrate the eclectic scholarly engagement I value.
Leadership Development Institute’s (LDI) 2nd Newsletter
During the fall semester I chose to divide the Leadership Institute participants into teams. One team was responsible for the solicitation of articles, the layout, and the overall theme of the publication. Read the newsletter to see team projects but also the outstanding job these leaders accomplished through the publication itself.
LDI_Newsletter Spring – Summer 2013
What I appreciate most in this edition are the numerous voices of students and their perception of leadership. Teaching at an institution that aims to prepare future leaders, I find their voice about leadership both valuable and formative for future contribution.
A 50000 Dirham External Gift Given to the Leadership Development Institute
Towards the end of the fall semester, I was informed by an LDI Board member that a donor was giving 50000 dirham (Moroccan currency) and that LDI would be the recipient of the funds. The donor stipulated that the recipient of the gift should have engaged in the local community.
Although the founder of LDI had instituted the LOTY Award (an event recognizing and awarding local association leaders) well before my involvement in the Institute, under my coordination, I developed and launched the First Annual Leadership Conference–a platform that brought not only local university members together but local business representatives, a member of the Moroccan ministry, association leaders, local public school teachers, a CEO from the United States, an executive from a Moroccan company, and others–to explore and hopefully implement leadership principles in the respective settings.
Second, the LDI Newsletters, originating with my coordination, were shared with diverse community members, displaying not only the contribution of LDI in the local community and the University but offering perceptions of leadership as noted by Moroccans and others.
A final contribution under my coordination were the student-led community-based projects during the fall 2013 semester. If you read the newsletter above then you have gleaned the highlights of these projects.
Fall 2013 concluded my final semester as the LDI coordinator. The position was one of the most challenging but rewarding professional experiences I have ever encountered. Yet the donation at the conclusion of my service means that I and those who worked with me have contributed to the future of LDI. So, our contribution will continue though we are not physically present–a trait of great leadership in my view.
Global Leadership Projects
I have formulated a distinct leadership endeavor that I will reveal on this site towards the end of Spring 2014. The multinational project aims to target 100 settings that will then hopefully strategically impact leadership perceptions and practice among a countless number of global community members.
Teaching One Course in the School of Business Administration
Though I am a full-time assistant professor in the English Unit, and presently the English coordinator, with two degrees in business, international work experience, and practical management experience with the largest retailer in the world, I had the opportunity to invest both my formal education and practical experiences in a 4000-level Fall 2013 management course—Management 4306, International Management. This is the capstone course for students declaring international business as an area of concentration.
As a practicing leader and a previous manager teaching this class, I fully understood how much I would have benefited from the course I was asked to teach, given the additions I made to the course. Though I used several of the assignments created by the previous professor of the course, I developed a learning arena where students were consistently required to engage through the upper tier of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Their preparation for experimental learning relied on their 1000 through 3000-level courses and responses to textbook questions I formulated given the expected application. Though some students struggled with the format of the class coming from a lecture-focused educational system, at the conclusion of the semester I would assess the class as a success.
In the student-centered setting I, I truly believe that students who have skills, talents, and knowledge that are less visible and neglected in a teacher-centered arena had an opportunity to thrive—a much respected opportunity for those who value different learning styles and a highly valued strategy of teaching for those who have actually engaged in management. And for those who were uncomfortable with the elevated level of participation, they entered a simulated world of management–interaction with people, situations, and tasks that often prompt discomfort, unfamiliarity, and a glimpse of how one deals with anxiety. If you would like to see a sample of the assignments I used in the class, view the Teaching Portfolio page and scroll down to Sample Assignments and then select the MGT 4306 assignment descriptions.
A Small Hand in the AUI Staff Training Program
During my first semester as the LDI coordinator, I was compelled to see how LDI could support staff, although the focus of the Institute is mainly intended to serve students. Still, I chose to have lunch with a few staff members to garner needs they had that would support a stronger contribution to the University. Most frequently I heard “training” as a much desired and needed tool for staff contribution. The next step was to gather self-identified staff needs through email solicitation from a few departments. Third, I emailed the Academic Deans to see if they wanted to add to the list generated by staff. Fourth, I met with the HR manager and the VPFA to see if LDI could assist with coordinating the training, with the stipulation that the Deans support the efforts by recommending faculty and others to lead the training. Finally, the VPAA’s assistant took the request for assistance to the Dean’s Council. At the end of the fall 2013 semester, I thought nothing would come from the efforts and given the demands of LDI and teaching 4 classes, I had little time to continue with this endeavor. However, just prior to the start of this spring semester a collaboration between the University and the Executive Education Center has led to the launch of an extensive staff training program. And while LDI had no formal role in the design, coordination, or delivery of the training program, I discovered that several of the training session topics gathered by LDI are a part of the training schedule. Consequently, LDI had a small role in the aim to develop staff in a growing and what hopes to be an internationally recognized educational institution. In my view, a small role is better than no role at all when positive change is underway.
Event Coordinator: Guest Lecture and University Collaborative Venture, a Beginning Dialogue
On October 24, 2013, Al Akhawayn’s President Driss Ouaouicha met with other university administrators to discuss an important educational topic: International Student Exchanges. Four days following the discussion, Francois-Xavier Gleyzon, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the University of Central Florida visited AUI and met with English faculty and others to discuss a potential collaboration between our two institutions. In summary, the proposal was a collaboratively taught class at AUI which would be complemented, eventually, by exchanges of students and faculty between the two institutions. As the English coordinator, at the time, I coordinated the visit by Dr. Gleyzon and hosted the guest lecture he gave to the campus. To view a summary of the campus presentation, select the page titled Contributions at AUI on this site. The significance of the endeavor is that faculty have a key role in realizing some of the broader aspirations of the institution.
Avis 