Federal Executive Institute
Encyclopedia
The Federal Executive Institute (FEI) is an executive and management development
and training center for governmental leaders located on a 14 acres (56,656 m²) campus near the center of Charlottesville, Virginia
, less than a mile from University of Virginia
.
FEI offers values-based leadership development
opportunities through an “interagency
residential learning experience” which emphasizes “personal growth as well as professional growth." Programs are designed specifically for executives
serving in the public sector
, with the goal of equipping them to improve government.
,
“The critical importance of our Federal programs demands the highest level of talent in our career leadership. To increase the capacity of top civil service executives and professionals, I directed Civil Service Chairman John Macy
last year to take steps to establish an advanced study center. Today I have approved and announced the creation of such a center to be known as the Federal Executive Institute and to be located at Charlottesville, Virginia in collaboration with the University of Virginia."
“This new training enterprise is part of our joint effort to improve the quality of government
for the American people. I ask you and your associates to support this new program fully and enthusiastically. Its successful operation can be assured by the assignment of your most talented and promising people to the programs it will offer.”
In 1999 at the 14th Annual FEIAA Forum, Vice President
Al Gore
noted that,
“FEI has a respected, rich tradition of training leaders of the future based on the values of our Constitution
and has earned a well-deserved reputation as the premier executive education institute in the federal government
. The networking and values-based leadership that your organization has developed are critical to this Administration's quest to reinvent government and improve our ability to serve the American public.”
LDS offers federal executives a residential learning experience. Sessions are run for four weeks and are offered ten times throughout the year. The maximum enrollment is approximately seventy executives per session, but FEI will often see up to 750 executives complete the LDS program per year.
In addition to an intense curriculum based on Constitutional values, LDS also offers a personal approach to leadership development. By incorporating 360-degree assessments, inventories of strengths and areas for improvement, and constant feedback from peers and facilitators, participants are led to a larger picture of self-awareness. Executives spend a great deal of their time in Leadership Development Teams (LDTs) which are smaller discussion groups made up of several of their fellow classmates and guided by a professional facilitator. In addition, networking and the building of interagency relationships is encouraged and fostered through out-class activities, leadership field experiences, and larger group simulations such as MBTI testing and analysis.
Attention to personal wellness is a large portion of the LDS experience. All participants complete a comprehensive health risk appraisal to include blood lipid profile and fitness assessment and nutritional counseling. Executives are provided with the opportunity to take fitness classes in the mornings before breakfast and during the midday break as well as during the open hours when the fitness facility is available for individual exercise. In addition, smaller breakout sessions and seminar focusing on specific health and wellness topics are offered during the program. FEI is committed to helping busy executives manage their health by helping to focus on larger work-life balance. FEI offers on-campus gym facilities as well as a volleyball
court and swimming pool for further extracurricular activity.
and specific organizational needs within federal agencies. FEI offers open enrollment courses throughout the year in areas such as: collaborating across organizational boundaries, emotional competence
, and strategic leadership. FEI also offers custom designed programs which can be constructed in regards to an organization’s specific needs.
FEI has worked with such agencies as: USAID, NOAA, NAVAIR, FAA, Department of Defense
, Internal Revenue Service
as well as the Army Senior Leader Development Program, the Defense Senior Leadership Development Program (DSLDP) and the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency in the Government.
(SES) level. These multi-day courses span a wide range of topics relevant to executive leaders including those which focus on individual skill development as well as organizational enhancement.
FEI is a founding member of the Global Leadership Consortium with the Graduate School, USDA, and the National Academy of Public Administration to support federal agencies in developing leaders who can excel in the global environment. A variety of programs are offered that enhance executives ability to think and relate globally in their leadership approach. Many of these programs are delivered within the LDS, CEP, and OEP components.
(SES) members and Schedule C (Administration) appointees.
Executive Education
Executive Education refers to academic programs at leading graduate-level business schools worldwide for executives, business leaders and functional managers. These programs are non-credit and non-degree granting...
and training center for governmental leaders located on a 14 acres (56,656 m²) campus near the center of Charlottesville, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, less than a mile from University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
.
FEI offers values-based leadership development
Leadership development
Leadership development refers to any activity that enhances the quality of leadership within an individual or organization. These activities have ranged from MBA style programs offered at university business schools to action learning, high-ropes courses and executive retreats.- Developing...
opportunities through an “interagency
residential learning experience” which emphasizes “personal growth as well as professional growth." Programs are designed specifically for executives
Senior management
Senior management, executive management, or management team is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of organizational management who have the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a company or corporation, they hold specific executive powers conferred onto them with and by...
serving in the public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
, with the goal of equipping them to improve government.
History
On May 9th, 1968, the Federal Executive Institute opened to these words by President Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
,
“The critical importance of our Federal programs demands the highest level of talent in our career leadership. To increase the capacity of top civil service executives and professionals, I directed Civil Service Chairman John Macy
John Macy
John Williams Macy, Jr. was a United States Government administrator and civil servant.-Biography:Born in Chicago, he received a B.A. from Wesleyan University in 1938. In 1938 Macy moved to Washington, D.C. where he began his government service and studied at American University...
last year to take steps to establish an advanced study center. Today I have approved and announced the creation of such a center to be known as the Federal Executive Institute and to be located at Charlottesville, Virginia in collaboration with the University of Virginia."
“This new training enterprise is part of our joint effort to improve the quality of government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
for the American people. I ask you and your associates to support this new program fully and enthusiastically. Its successful operation can be assured by the assignment of your most talented and promising people to the programs it will offer.”
In 1999 at the 14th Annual FEIAA Forum, Vice President
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
noted that,
“FEI has a respected, rich tradition of training leaders of the future based on the values of our Constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
and has earned a well-deserved reputation as the premier executive education institute in the federal government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
. The networking and values-based leadership that your organization has developed are critical to this Administration's quest to reinvent government and improve our ability to serve the American public.”
Organization
FEI operates four branches of leadership programming: Leadership for a Democratic Society (LDS), Custom Executive Programs (CEP), Open Enrollment Courses (OEP), and the Center for Global Leadership (CGL). Programs, workshops, and courses are designed and administered by an internal team of federally employed faculty and staff. In addition, all programs are supported by more than 180 adjunct faculty representing a wide spectrum of expertise.Leadership for a Democratic Society (LDS)
The four-week Leadership for a Democratic Society (LDS) program improves the leadership skills of senior career federal government executives to enhance their individual performance and the performance of government agencies. The program focuses on four themes: personal leadership, transforming organizations, policy in a Constitutional system, and the global context for executive action.LDS offers federal executives a residential learning experience. Sessions are run for four weeks and are offered ten times throughout the year. The maximum enrollment is approximately seventy executives per session, but FEI will often see up to 750 executives complete the LDS program per year.
In addition to an intense curriculum based on Constitutional values, LDS also offers a personal approach to leadership development. By incorporating 360-degree assessments, inventories of strengths and areas for improvement, and constant feedback from peers and facilitators, participants are led to a larger picture of self-awareness. Executives spend a great deal of their time in Leadership Development Teams (LDTs) which are smaller discussion groups made up of several of their fellow classmates and guided by a professional facilitator. In addition, networking and the building of interagency relationships is encouraged and fostered through out-class activities, leadership field experiences, and larger group simulations such as MBTI testing and analysis.
Attention to personal wellness is a large portion of the LDS experience. All participants complete a comprehensive health risk appraisal to include blood lipid profile and fitness assessment and nutritional counseling. Executives are provided with the opportunity to take fitness classes in the mornings before breakfast and during the midday break as well as during the open hours when the fitness facility is available for individual exercise. In addition, smaller breakout sessions and seminar focusing on specific health and wellness topics are offered during the program. FEI is committed to helping busy executives manage their health by helping to focus on larger work-life balance. FEI offers on-campus gym facilities as well as a volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
court and swimming pool for further extracurricular activity.
Custom Executive Programs (CEP)
In addition to LDS, elements of FEI focus on consultingConsultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
and specific organizational needs within federal agencies. FEI offers open enrollment courses throughout the year in areas such as: collaborating across organizational boundaries, emotional competence
Emotional competence
Emotional competence refers to one's ability to express or release one's inner feelings . It implies an ease around others and determines one's ability to effectively and successfully lead and express...
, and strategic leadership. FEI also offers custom designed programs which can be constructed in regards to an organization’s specific needs.
FEI has worked with such agencies as: USAID, NOAA, NAVAIR, FAA, Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
as well as the Army Senior Leader Development Program, the Defense Senior Leadership Development Program (DSLDP) and the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency in the Government.
Open Enrollment Programs (OEP)
FEI also offers more than two dozen open enrollment programs to federal executives at the GS15 and Senior Executive ServiceSenior Executive Service
The Senior Executive Service is a paygrade in the civil service of the United States federal government, somewhat analogous to the ranks of general or admiral in the U.S. armed forces...
(SES) level. These multi-day courses span a wide range of topics relevant to executive leaders including those which focus on individual skill development as well as organizational enhancement.
Center for Global Leadership (CGL)
FEI is a founding member of the Global Leadership Consortium with the Graduate School, USDA, and the National Academy of Public Administration to support federal agencies in developing leaders who can excel in the global environment. A variety of programs are offered that enhance executives ability to think and relate globally in their leadership approach. Many of these programs are delivered within the LDS, CEP, and OEP components.
FEI Directors
- Frank Sherwood (1968-73)
- Chester Newland (1973-76)
- Thomas Murphy (1976-79)
- Patrick Conklin (1979-79) Acting
- Robert Matson (1980-80) Acting
- Chester Newland (1980-1981)
- Robert Matson (1981-82) Acting
- Robert Matson (1982-87)
- Michael Hansen (1987-92)
- Patrick Conklin (1992-92) Acting
- Dee Henderson (1993-94)
- Curtis Smith (1994-1998)
- Barbara Garvin-Kester (1998-2003)
- Thomas Towberman (2003-2007)
- Joseph Enders (2007-07) Acting
- Kevin Marshall (2007-2009)
- Joe Kraemer (2009-2011) Acting
- Curtis Smith (2011-present) Acting
Current Faculty
- Mary Chatel, Executive In Residence (Washington Office)
- Michael Rawlings, Senior Faculty
- Peter Ronayne, Senior Faculty
OPM Educational Facility Locations
FEI is part of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and falls under OPM's HR Solutions organization which functions as OPM's services and consulting division for all U.S. Federal agencies. FEI also provides Briefing Programs for Senior Executive ServiceSenior Executive Service
The Senior Executive Service is a paygrade in the civil service of the United States federal government, somewhat analogous to the ranks of general or admiral in the U.S. armed forces...
(SES) members and Schedule C (Administration) appointees.
- There are three educational facilities within HR Solutions located in:
- Charlottesville, VirginiaCharlottesville, VirginiaCharlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
(FEI) - Shepherdstown, West VirginiaShepherdstown, West VirginiaShepherdstown is a town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, located along the Potomac River. It is the oldest town in the state, having been chartered in 1762 by Colonial Virginia's General Assembly. Since 1863, Shepherdstown has been in West Virginia, and is the oldest town in...
(EMDC) - Aurora, ColoradoAurora, ColoradoCity of Aurora is a Home Rule Municipality spanning Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties in Colorado. Aurora is an eastern suburb of the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area . The city is the third most populous city in the Colorado and the 56th most populous city in the...
(WMDC)
- Charlottesville, Virginia