UC Women's Initiative for Professional Development (UC WI)

The program has been designed to:

• Cultivate a professional network that spans the UC system
• Provide access to top UC leaders to learn about their diverse leadership approaches and journeys
• Strengthen skills and confidence through hands-on practice with a range of tools in the areas of:
  • Building Strategic Relationships
  • Actively communicating your value to the organization
  • Developing and delivering a compelling narrative regarding one’s professional accomplishments and vision
  • Advocating for your own needs at work
  • Increasing awareness of diverse UC career paths
  • Coaching others to demonstrate their value to the organization

• Is a current mid-career faculty, academic personnel, or staff member from the UC Berkeley campus
• Has a minimum of 10 years of professional experience, including 2 years at UC Berkeley
• Demonstrated potential for advancement
• Is seeking to learn concepts that improve their effectiveness at work and hear about the career journeys of established UC leaders
• Represents different functions and departments of our campus
• Is able to commit to the program with full attendance and participation at all sessions
• Is able to complete intersession assignments which require up to two hours between seminars
• Has the written support of their supervisor

NOTE: Eligible staff employees are those who meet the requirements for the Staff Appreciation and Recognition (STAR) program. This includes PPSM (PSS or MSP) employees and Teamsters (CX) employees.

• Participate fully - The UC Women’s Initiative is experiential and relies heavily on full participant contribution
• Attend all program sessions in their entirety - Locations will be charged for participants who do not complete the program
• Due to limited funding to support this program, a participant is expected to commit and participate fully. Should they leave the program without ample notice to allow for an alternate to be selected, their department will be billed for failing to notify the program manager (Deepak Sharma(link sends e-mail)) in a timely manner.
• Complete Pre-Work and Pre-Program Survey before the first day of their assigned cohort
• Complete up to 2 hours of additional work assigned between program sessions

• The program fee is $1287.50 per participant. This fee covers virtual program delivery and all program resources, tools, and support.
• The cost of participation in this program is covered by a joint effort from UC Berkeley People & Culture, UC Berkeley's EVCP Office, and the Vice Provost for the Faculty.

The UC WI schedule coincides with UC's academic/fiscal calendar. We will offer three cohorts with the nomination and selection process running February - April of 2024.

UC Berkeley has been allotted 12 spots (which includes 3 faculty, 3 academic personnel, and 6 staff).

Note: UC Berkeley participates in the North Cohorts.