Rom Appointed to Leadership Institute

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Curt Rom

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Curt Rom, professor in the department of horticulture in the Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas, has been appointed to the Food Systems Leadership Institute for a two-year program.

The institute is an executive leadership development program for academia, industry and government, and enhances personal and professional development by emphasizing leadership competencies, skills for organizational change, and a broad, interdisciplinary perspective of food systems.

The program prepares scholars for upper-level leadership roles in food system programs.

With the Food Systems Leadership Institute, Rom will work with expert instructors, leadership development coaches and mentors in increasing leadership abilities. Sessions include time with university leaders, political leaders, industry executives and others who have reached high-level leadership status. Leadership theory is combined with practical experience, often in the context of food systems and higher education.

“It is an honor to be a participant in the Food Systems Leadership Institute,” said Rom. “By completing the two-year institute program, I will be better able to serve the University of Arkansas and the Bumpers College as a faculty member. The FSLI should help me develop additional skills and abilities for campus leadership, especially within the Bumpers College, and the Bumpers honors program. I am eager to begin the program where I will receive significant mentorship from campus leaders, and be able to develop and complete a project of value to the college and university.” 

The first year of the two-year program includes assessments to increase self-awareness of leadership style, and the development and implementation of a personal plan with the assistance of a professional coach through three week-long residential sessions and distance learning activities. The second year focuses on applying what has been learned to carry out an individual leadership project.

“We are pleased with Curt’s appointment to the Food Systems Leadership Institute,” said Bumpers College Dean Mike Vayda, who has participated in the program and nominated Rom. “He is very deserving of this opportunity, and it’s an honor to be selected. This experience will help him become even more valuable to our students, faculty and leadership.”

The Food Systems Leadership 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. A program of the Association of Public Land-grant Universities, initial funding is provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The program combines interactive distance learning with residential sessions. North Carolina State University is the host site with Ohio State University and California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo serving as the residential sites.