Driving along Emmet Street/Route 29 in Charlottesville, you may have noticed a stately white building up on a hill across the street from the Villa Diner, enclosed by a wrought iron fence. Ever wonder what goes on there?
The Federal Executive Institute (FEI) is part of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Established in 1968, FEI hosts senior executives from across the federal government, including the Department of Defense, for immersive programs on leadership. Charlottesville was chosen as an ideal location for FEI because of its close proximity to Washington, D.C., and as the home of the University of Virginia, a key educational partner for its mission.
Andrew Pennock, associate professor of public policy at UVA Batten, has been part of FEI’s core program, Leadership in a Democratic Society, for two cycles, teaching workshops on Systems Changes, as well as four-day courses on Mobilizing Change in Complex Systems.
His FEI executive/students serve in some of the highest levels of government (GS-15 and SES) and are often new to their leadership positions and seeking advanced development in strategic thinking, change management and a variety of other leadership skillsets. Pennock has worked with more than 100 executives who, combined, supervise tens of thousands of federal employees and manage programs that touch the lives of almost all Americans through the services they provide. The federal leaders typically live on the FEI residential campus here in Charlottesville, which, while easily accessible, is far enough away to allow participants to become fully immersed in the curriculum.
“It makes sense for agencies to invest in building core leadership competencies for these executives,” Pennock says. “The world is shifting in important ways and the federal government needs to shift accordingly. From technology changes to the nature of threats across the globe, these agencies need to be able to adapt how they continue to serve their core mission in light of these new realities. And leading that change is hard.”
Pennock says FEI programs are designed to help the federal executives improve how their agencies operate both globally and domestically. The agencies provide core services that people depend on from the federal government – from weather prediction and national security to highway maintenance and food safety — so it’s vital that they have the skills to address current and new challenges.
