Professional Development Corner June 2026

Professional Development Corner

Contributed by Patty Marbury, Director of Training and Development, UVAFinance

Note: Remember to discuss all professional development opportunities with your manager prior to applying for any funds. See below for more information on the Education Benefit.

Small Habits, Big Growth

Make a plan!

Professional development often happens through small actions repeated consistently over time—asking questions, trying new approaches, reflecting on experiences, or making time to learn something new in small doses.

These habits may seem minor in the moment, but over time they build confidence, strengthen skills, and create momentum. A few intentional minutes spent reading an article, listening to a podcast, or completing a short online course, can have a lasting impact when practiced consistently.

In busy times especially, small steps can make development feel more manageable and sustainable. Growth doesn’t always require major changes; sometimes the smallest habits lead to the biggest progress. So this month, choose one small learning habit to focus on this month—something realistic, repeatable, and easy to build into your routine.

Professional Development Opportunities

To help with your planning, following is information about a variety of workshops, courses, and resources to support your ongoing growth. While some opportunities are free and others may have a fee, many do not require travel. Please feel free to share other opportunities you come across and I’ll include them in future communications!

Coursera

Remember that we have access to Coursera, and an online learning platform that offers a wide range of courses, specializations, certifications, and degree programs from universities and institutions around the world. UVA has a university-wide subscription for Coursera. Check it out and start learning!

EDUCAUSE Events

What is EDUCAUSE? From their website: “EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to lead the way, advancing the strategic use of technology and data to further the promise of higher education. We connect and empower our member community through insights, advocacy, resources, and learning opportunities to anticipate trends and strengthen professional practice.”

NACUBO*

Washington Updates

• June 29, 2-3 pm ET
• April 6 Recording

Conferences and Forums

• NACUBO 2026 Annual Meeting – July 18-21 in Anaheim, CA
• Virtual Option – July 20-21
• 2026 Planning, Budgeting, and Analytics Forum – October 5-7 in San Diego, CA (Coronado)
• Virtual Option – October 5-7
• 2026 Tax Forum – October 25-27 in Indianapolis, IN
• Online Events - unless indicated, the session is free to NACUBO members, which we are, although you need an individual account.* Some also offer CPE credits.
• Recordings

Self-Paced Courses and Microlearning

• Strategic Higher Education Finance and Planning ($595)
• F&A Short Form ($150)
• Essentials of College and University Accounting ($125)
• Facilities Management ($49)
• Endowment Fundamentals ($49)
• New to Higher Education ($49)

Podcasts

• Career Conversations
• NACUBO in Brief

*Individual NACUBO membership is free through UVA’s institutional membership. To join go to nacubo.org and click on “Login or Join”. From the Login box, click on “Don’t have an account” and fill out the form. In the “Primary Affiliate” field enter “University of Virginia” and select the appropriate affiliate.

SACUBO

• College Business Management Institute – July 26-31 in Lexington, KY (Late registration ends July 21 and the cost is $1025 for the session.)
• 2026 Fall Conference – November 11-13, Myrtle Beach, SC (Save the date; more info coming soon!)
• Did you know?  Through UVA's institutional membership, you have access to lots of SACUBO opportunities.  Read more on the blog.

EACUBO

• Higher Education Leadership Program – August 10-13, 2026, at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY ($2,999)
• 2026 Annual Meeting – October 12-15, 2026, Buffalo, NY (Save the date; more info coming soon!)

The Chronicle of Higher Education

• Professional Development Programs
• Virtual Events (many are on-demand and/or free)

Additional Organizations and Resources

NCCI (Network for Change and Continuous Innovation) - NCCI positions higher education institutions to be agile, lifelong learning models to transform lives and communities around the world. All efforts of NCCI trace back to the goal of advancing sustainable excellence in higher education by promoting successful practices and approaches used to drive change, innovation, and continuous improvement across academic and administrative functions.

AGA - is the association that connects and empowers professionals who support government, from financial management to IT, human resources, cybersecurity and more, to advance good government initiatives, grow their expertise and accelerate their careers. (Requires membership.)

LearnBFSI (several interesting for fee courses – note this company is in Australia.)

UVA Organizations

• UVA Organizational Excellence has many learning opportunities, resources, and articles.
• Staying Connected Across Grounds: Organizational Knowledge and Information – June 16 11:00-12:00, Shannon Library, Room 330
• Subscribe to OE’s newsletter.
• UVA Miller Center always has interesting programs.
• UVA Human Resources offers many free programs and courses.
• Learning Tracks | UVA HR – HR has created three learning tracks: Aspiring Managers, New Managers, and Personal Growth (for individual contributors.) These are about a year-long commitment and requires completion of an online form.
• LinkedIn Learning - Human Resources also has links to microlearning courses and to LinkedIn Learning. (Participating in these courses does not require submitting a Professional Development Request Form.)
• UVA Darden Executive Education – Several programs are (with the 50% discount for UVA staff) are under $2,000. Use the discount code UVA50 when registering. (The prices listed are for the full cost.) See the Darden Executive Education program schedule for upcoming dates.
• UVA’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS) offers many Certificate programs.

Other Institutions

• Harvard Business School Online offers multi-course credentials and certificate programs – many are less than $2000.
• University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business online programs; many are $1,000 or less.
• Stanford University Executive Education – the self-paced programs are $1,500.

Education Benefit

Each year you have $2,000 of centrally-funded education benefit for professional development or $5,250 to use for tuition toward a degree-seeking program. See https://hr.virginia.edu/career-development/education-benefits-1 for more information. (To be eligible for this benefit, you must have had six months of service in a benefits-eligible position at UVA by the start date of the class, with the intent to remain on the active payroll during the entire term of the class.)

UVAFinance team members – if you have questions about Professional Development opportunities, please contact Patty Marbury, pam5w@virginia.edu.

Article on Leadership

The Top 20 Leadership Challenges--this informative article provides many links to other articles and resources. (Center for Creative Leadership)

Please feel free to share other opportunities you come across and I’ll include them in future communications!

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Related Content: Microsoft Copilot Workshop at UVA School of Data; Organizational Excellence Building Connections Workshop

Microsoft Copilot Workshop - June 25

Join us!

Looking to get more value out of your everyday work and increase productivity? Microsoft Copilot can help! UVA Information Technology Services (ITS) is hosting a hands-on Microsoft Copilot workshop designed to help faculty and staff utilize Copilot for their daily workflows. 

Event Details

• Date: Thursday, June 25
• Time: 9:00AM - 5:00PM
• Location: UVA School of Data Science, Classroom 305
• Cost: Free!
• In-person, interactive sessions

What You'll Learn 

Copilot 101: Foundations & Everyday Use

• Learn how to access and navigate Microsoft Copilot 
• Explore core capabilities across M365 tools like Outlook 
• Understand real-world use cases to boost productivity 
• Get introduced to newer features such as Outlook grounding and Office agents 

Agent 101: Building Your First Copilot Agent 

• Learn how to create simple Copilot agents 
• Explore practical scenarios for automation and customization 
• Understand how to extend Copilot to meet your specific needs 

Flexible Session Options 

Attend one or more sessions depending on your schedule: 

• Morning Track
• 9:00 - 10:30 AM: Copilot 101
• 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Agent 101 
• Afternoon Track 
• 1:30 - 3:00 PM: Copilot 101
• 3:30 - 5:00 PM: Agent 101

Why Attend?

Through attending these sessions, you'll gain practical skills you can use immediately in your everyday work, while building confidence with AI-powered tools in Microsoft 365. You'll learn directly from Microsoft-led instruction to explore how Copilot can streamline communication, content creation, and workflows. 

How to Register

• Reserve your spot via Eventbrite (limited capacity)
• Eventbrite link to register 

Join Organizational Excellence on June 16: Building Connections Through Knowledge Sharing

As UVA continues to grow, effective communication and knowledge sharing across departments, schools, and teams are more important than ever. 

Join Organizational Excellence on June 16 for an interactive discussion exploring how information moves across the University and how we can strengthen collaboration, learning, and connection across Grounds.

Presenter: Peer-to-peer sharing and learning

When: June 16, 2026 | 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Where: Shannon Library, Room 330
Register Now

Participants will share experiences, discuss what is working well, identify challenges, and explore questions such as what types of information are most valuable, how knowledge is accessed and shared across the University, and where opportunities exist to strengthen communication and connection across roles, teams, and departments. 

Together, attendees will consider how UVA can foster greater shared understanding and organizational learning in support of its mission.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to register and join the conversation.