2021-2022
Program Director: Gwenda Thomas (University of Melbourne)
Higher education is increasingly subject to global economic, social, technical and environmental trends that create uncertainty and increase the need for agility and responsiveness in tertiary institutions. Sustainability is defined and shaped by an organisation’s ability to keep up with and respond to rapid change, emerging issues and disruptive influences. In the era of a global pandemic that significantly impacted all aspects of society, university libraries faced a ‘new normal’ as they recovered, reset and reimagined sustainability. In setting strategic themes for 2020-2022, Council identified a need to focus on sustainability related to:
- empowering workforce capabilities
- future-proofing scholarly information resources, and funding
- advancing the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This was encapsulated initially in the strategic theme ‘Inspiring Sustainability’.
The Building Sustainable Leadership Program emerged in 2021 as a refined focus of CAUL’s strategic work on sustainability. It developed as a response to a CAUL Council discussion that highlighted a need to build leadership capability and capacity within CAUL Member institutions, particularly the development of key attributes, including resilience, emotional intelligence, creativity, and problem-solving, as the most pressing aspect of the original agenda.
Over the next two years, the Building Sustainable Leadership Program explored how CAUL could:
- support university libraries to empower and develop the next generation of leaders
- strengthen the network of senior leaders across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand
- recognise and celebrate the outstanding work of CAUL Member institution staff
- provide leadership development opportunities for CAUL Member institution staff at all levels.