Innovative business leaders encourage and motivate employees to explore and generate ideas, products and services in the workplace. They also foster growth by having their staff take courses that can reinforce, stimulate and teach new skills while conducting business.
The Professional and Corporate Education (PaCE) program at Stetson University, part of the School of Business Administration, offers help for innovative companies.
According to its website, PaCE offers more than 30 professional education programs that teach highly desired skills necessary in the workplace and for career advancement, allowing adult learners the opportunity to reach their professional potential and stay relevant in their chosen professions. The courses are taught by business school faculty members, adjuncts, and subject-matter experts.
THE MAN IN CHARGE — Bud Hanson is the executive director of the Professional and Corporate Education program at Stetson University. He conducted research on workplace needs that led to the creation of three new courses this academic year.
Students will receive a certificate of completion or professional development or continuing education unit relevant to their field after fulfilling their course obligations.
The Professional and Corporate Education program, after a comprehensive analysis of workplace needs, is launching two new courses during fall 2021 and one spring 2022 class.
“I participated in remote, online video conversations with local business leaders and professionals on relevant workforce development and professional growth initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Bud Hanson, MBA and executive director of PaCE, said in a news release. “The three new courses during the fall and spring semesters were developed from those discussions and will be the first in a signature series of leadership classes that we’ll build upon in the future.”
Later this month, the first new once-weekly course will debut — 21st Century Leadership: Leading and Learning From Context. Instructor Susan Elliott-Rink will lead virtual sessions via Zoom from 3 to 5 p.m. each Wednesday from Oct. 20 through Nov. 24.
In the six-week course, Elliott-Rink will provide an understanding of the role that a person’s context and past play in shaping their attitudes, behaviors, perception and results. Individualized coaching will be available during some of the sessions, according to the news release. The cost is $695.
From 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 6, John Tichenor, Ph.D., associate professor of management; Chaz Underriner, Ph.D., assistant professor of digital arts; and Krista Franco, M.F.A., associate professor of theatre arts, will lead an in-person Introduction to Design Thinking workshop.
During the workshop, the interdisciplinary team of Stetson faculty members will examine an innovative approach to solving complex problems and provide participants with a practical understanding of the creative problem-solving process and methods for transforming customer needs into human-centered solutions, according to the news release.
The hands-on course will be held at the Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience (IWER) at the Sandra Stetson Aquatic Center, 2636 Alhambra Ave. in DeLand. A complimentary lunch and networking opportunities are included in the cost of $99.
From 6 to 8 p.m. every Thursday from Feb. 3 through Feb. 24, Rajni Shankar-Brown, Ph.D., professor and Jessie Ball duPont endowed chair of social justice education, will lead a four-week hybrid course (two classes in-person and two on Zoom) in which she will be sharing her expertise during a Grow Forward: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion certification course.
The news release notes that business leaders and other students will receive an understanding of key EDI concepts and have an opportunity to participate in a 30-minute coaching session and receive additional learning resources. The cost is $995.
Go to www.stetson.edu/portal/pace/ for more information.
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