Caley Opsal picked for leadership program
Sue Caley Opsal, anatomy and physiology instructor, has been chosen to participate in the National Institute for Leadership Development, LEADERS program, an international program for administrators and faculty in higher education.
This year-long program, designed to enhance the skills participants need to assume major decision making roles in their institutions, includes institutional practice in supervisory and human relations skills, planning and budgeting, and organizational transformation as well as discussions with national experts on the issues confronting higher education during the next decade.
During the program, Caley will be mentored by Dr. Harriet Custer, vice president of academic affairs, to work on projects that will aid the institution and foster individual professional growth.
Leaders participants are chosen for their professional abilities, their interests in advancement in higher education, and the quality of their proposed projects.
Caley, a tenured faculty member,
holds a Masters degree in Biology from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and has been an Anatomy and Physiology Instructor at Illinois Valley Community College since 1995.Early in her career she began using the Internet for instruction because she saw its vast potential for teaching and learning.
She has developed a wide array of online resources for her students and has procured several grants to support her innovative teaching methods, including a $20,000 grant from A.D.A.M. Software that provided the college with cutting edge anatomy and physiology software.
Caley designed and held the first IVCC Faculty Facilitator position, assisting faculty with various technologies in the classroom. She has presented her work with instructional technology both at the state and national level, which includes presentations at Illinois Online Network Faculty Summer Institute, League for Innovation in the Community College and Illinois State University.
For the past five years, she has taught a math and science camp for girls organized through a regional vocational technical consortium and for the last three years co-designed a cybercamp for children. She also regularly gives presentations on biology-related gender issues, fitness and nutrition.
Outside of her teaching responsibilities, she is certified as a Personal Trainer through the American Council on Exercise.
The National Institute for Leadership Development is internationally recognized by colleges, universities and businesses for its visionary, holistic programs that produce leaders who effectively challenge assumptions, eliminate barriers and create new pathways to successful solutions.