Everything Project Management with Mary Naydan: A Workshop with the Academic Deans

Back in January 2025, Cecily Swanson, ODOC’s Associate Dean for Academic Advising since 2020†, attended my Project Management 101 Wintersession. She found the workshop so helpful that she wanted her colleagues to experience it, too, before the start of the new academic year.

The workshop covered everything from project management theory and methods to project charters to best practices for running effective meetings. While the CDH specializes in project management for software engineering within a humanities context, the ideas apply to a variety of fields, from student advising to event planning. The following slide shows participants’ responses about the concepts they were most excited to adapt:

Swanson reported that the workshop was “a revelation for our team of academic deans,” who “left the workshop equipped to identify challenges in our current projects and enact solutions.” She shared, “The workshop gave us concrete strategies for improving the core features of our work.”

My highlights included playing the penny game — a timed interactive game in which participants flip and pass pennies to learn about the Agile mindset — and having a deep discussion with the group about which project management skills are the most essential. Part of the fun in presenting these concepts to professionals in different academic fields is that I get to see familiar concepts in a new light. I’m always excited to hear the insightful questions and comments that this material generates.

Swanson summed up the pragmatic merits of the CDH’s project management outreach to students, faculty, and staff on campus: “We all know the value of collaboration, communication, and change management for successful project management; Naydan’s workshop offers the tools to actually put these values into practice.”

†Swanson has been newly appointed as the associate dean for undergraduate affairs for the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and we wish her well in her new role!