Seminars
MLA Academic Program Services: ADE-ALD Summer Seminar and MAPS Leadership Institute
Get tools and strategies to help you lead!
The ADE-ALD Summer Seminar and the MAPS Leadership Institute will give you the training and support you need to lead your academic department, center, or program in languages and literatures and related fields.
2026 Events
ADE-ALD Summer Seminar in San José, California
Meeting the Current Moment: Leading for the Future of the Humanities
Hosted by San José State University
28–30 May 2026
MAPS Leadership Institute (virtual event)
Sustaining the Humanities: How to Be an Effective Leader Now
22–25 June 2026 | Preinstitute workshops 15–16 June 2026
Learn more about the institute.
ADE-ALD Summer Seminar registrants get a 50% discounted rate!
What You’ll Learn
Take advantage of in-person and virtual professional development opportunities dedicated to empowering you in navigating the future of the humanities. Learn more about seminar and institute pricing.
The ADE-ALD Summer Seminar and the MAPS Institute are unique and invaluable resources for current, new, or aspiring leaders and administrators of academic programs, departments, and centers in languages and literatures. Each year, the seminar and the institute connect chairs, program directors, and other department leaders to a network of peers and colleagues from around the country.
These intensive professional development opportunities help you strengthen essential skills and gain insight into current trends in the profession.
“The ADE Summer Seminars provided invaluable support in my early days of chairing a department. . . . I learned more from my fellow English department chairs at those annual meetings than I can hope to acknowledge here.”
–Kevin Dettmar, Pomona College, author of How to Chair a Department
At the ADE-ALD Summer Seminar and the MAPS Institute, you can expect to learn what you need to know about
- managing conflict and facilitating difficult conversations
- creating a positive departmental climate
- working with a budget
- seeking funding from public and private sources
- coordinating curriculum design, assessment, and reform
- mentoring early-career colleagues
- advocating for your department to and beyond your university
- leading during a time of crisis
- understanding local and national trends in the profession
And you'll gain insight into dealing with the critical questions shaping the field today.
The programs for the ADE-ALD Summer Seminar (offered in-person) and the MAPS Leadership Institute (offered online) provide workshops and informational sessions facilitated by experienced program leaders on trends, challenges, best practices, and proven strategies for success.
Whether you are a new or experienced department leader, the ADE-ALD Summer Seminar and the MAPS Institute provide you with valuable tools for strengthening your department, as well as an opportunity to develop a lasting network.
“I came to this seminar feeling uneasy about becoming chair, and I left feeling confident and excited.”
— Mark Groundland, Tennessee Technological University
View Programs from Past Seminars
Sample Letter for Chairs Requesting Funding for Seminar Attendance
A Letter From Upper Administrators in Support of Seminar Attendance
Endorsements from Participants at Previous Seminars
