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W&M Professional Development Initiative
About the Initiative
The W&M Professional Development Initiative is a modern W&M tradition that helps faculty and staff prepare thoughtfully for the academic year, together. Each summer and early fall, W&M programs professional development to collaboratively engage employees.
This dynamic programming draws on campus expertise to prepare thoughtfully for the fall in ways that prioritize our values and our mission of teaching, learning and discovery and sustains the university's legacy of civic leadership.
2026 Registration is Open!
Programming for W&M's 2026 Professional Development Days is centered on The Power of Connection: Building Relationships, Networks, and Community for Greater Impact, and will feature keynote speaker Inga Carboni, W. Brooks George Associate Professor at the Raymond A. School of Business.
All W&M faculty and staff are warmly invited to register for one of two sessions, Monday, August 17 from 1 - 4 p.m. or Tuesday, August 18 from 9 a.m. to noon, and enjoy a complimentary lunch with colleagues.
Those interested in learning in advance may enjoy Professor Carboni’s 2019 book, Connect the Dots: How to Build, Nurture, and Leverage Your Network to Achieve Your Personal and Professional Goals. The ebook is available for all W&M employees through W&M Libraries.
Engaging Across Differences
At William & Mary, we recognize that the future of democracy depends on active citizens who can engage effectively across difference. Better Arguments at William & Mary is a university-wide initiative first introduced to staff during the 2024 Professional Development Days. Based on the Aspen Institute's national civic framework, these five principles provide our community with a common language and shared norms for navigating conflict and disagreement.
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Take Winning off the Table
Lead with a desire to understand and learn, rather than to win.
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Prioritize Relationships & Listen Passionately
Focus on building honest connections. Arguments are improved when we listen, not just advance our own points of view.
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Pay Attention to Context
Acknowledge the many factors that may influence beliefs. Civic debates don’t take place in a vacuum, but rather in the context of lived experiences, access to information, culture, and more.
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Embrace Vulnerability
Consider the benefits of opening up in an argument. When we are vulnerable, we can open new avenues for human connection.
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Make Room to Transform
Be open to new and varied perspectives. By making room to transform, we often walk away with more nuance, fewer assumptions, and better solutions.
Past Session: Navigating Conflict
The W&M 2025 Professional Development session is available in full. Programming centers on navigating conflict with confidence and compassion. The session features Law Dean A. Benjamin Spencer; Phillip Wagner, clinical associate professor in organizational behavior; Emily Gerst, director of conflict resolution & education; and co-chairs of the Democracy Initiative, Dean of W&M Libraries Carrie L. Cooper Ed.D. ’24 and Senior Vice President for Student Affairs & Public Safety Ginger Ambler ’88, Ph.D. ’06.
Looking for more? The Professional Development Committee shared Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen as a common read for those interested in exploring the topic further.
What's Your Conflict Style?
Learn more about how you respond when things get tense at work. This short survey was developed by W&M's director of conflict resolution & education to help employees understand their habitual responses to conflict.
Past Session: Handling Vulnerability
Professor Atwater offers helpful tips on how best to negotiate the situation when you or others lack certainty, control, or both. This session was recorded during the 2024 Professional Development Days.
Also available: Atwater's specific suggestions on awareness, personal well-being, community well-being and communication during times of vulnerability.
Need more background? Watch his presentation on The Confidence Map: Charting a Path From Chaos to Clarity.
About the Initiative
The W&M Professional Development Initiative reinforces the university's commitment to foster a culture of professional well-being and substantive, respectful and compassionate engagement with one another and our students — a tradition that stretches from the birth of the Alma Mater of the Nation through William & Mary’s Year of Civic Leadership.