Northern California was the last place on Pam Balch's mind just over a year ago. But now, as she sits in her Kendall Hall office in a
one-year appointment as vice provost for academic planning, Balch is glad she hand-picked Chico State over every other college in the CSU system
to fulfill her second year as an Executive Fellow of the CSU Executive Leadership Program.
In a highly competitive process in which each of the twenty-three CSU presidents nominates two administrators with potential for senior executive positions within the CSU system, Balch was selected as the only CSU administrator to participate as Executive Fellow for the program's 1996-1998 cycle.
The CSU Executive Leadership Development Program is sponsored by the chancellor and provides extensive internship experiences for CSU employees who have a strong potential for future recruitment in senior academic and executive positions. The goal of the program is to increase the diversity of the pool of potential applicants for senior executive positions at the CSU campuses and in the Chancellor's Office.
Executive Fellows fulfill the first year of the fellowship working for the Office of the Chancellor in Long Beach and get hands-on experience working at the Governmental Affairs Office in Sacramento, the Federal Relations Office in Washington, D.C., and the Harvard Summer Institute in Massachusetts. The second year of the fellowship is spent working at one of the CSU campuses.
When asked why she chose CSU, Chico over every other college in the system, even though it was almost the farthest away from her home in San Diego, without hesitation Balch replied, "The people. The camaraderie, the community. . .is very different from what I've experienced visiting other college towns. I just love it here. I don't think I'd be happier on any other campus."
Balch, who is on leave from her position as associate dean for academic affairs at San Diego State University's Imperial Valley campus, said that she is very pleased with the amount of input and involvement she's had since arriving on campus in August. "I thought Chico State would provide me with the best kind of opportunity," she said, "and so far it has." As vice provost for academic planning, Balch handles a variety of projects.
Current projects include designing a concept paper for a new leadership program for 1998-1999 that would provide one-year internships for several individuals and planning strategies to recruit high-achieving students to Chico State. She is also working with other CSU campuses to develop partnerships in distance education and is tackling faculty development issues, which include student-centered learning environments and the Master-Teacher Program. She also takes part in a number of meetings, including the Cabinet, Provost's staff, Academic Affairs Council, Dean's Council, Academic Senate, and others.
Balch's talent and leadership skills were evident long before she came to Chico. Most recently she was selected for 1998 Leadership California, a year-long program of seminars dealing with a broad range of issues facing California. Participants represent a diverse cross-section of California women with senior-level administrative experience from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. During 1996-97 she was also a Fellow for the American Council on Education (ACE). This one-year fellowship focused on the study of higher education administration, leadership decisionmaking, and governance.
Balch's position at the Imperial Valley Campus is being held for her should she decide to return there when her fellowship is completed."This program has been a great opportunity to explore administration," she said."I'm keeping all of my options open."
AMG