Organization Development
MA Program

Psychology Department

Is it Time for Your Next Career?

This Psychology MA in Organization Development provides professional preparation for developing organizations and communities that are more sane and effective.

In four semesters participants gain the practical skills, conceptual knowledge, and field-tested experience to successfully lead organization and community improvement efforts.

Cohort groups of 15 students participate in seminar discussions, skill-building activities, and extensive field projects under the guidance and supervision of experienced OD practitioner faculty.

This program has a strong commitment to the principle of diversity. We seek a broad spectrum of students, including members of under-represented groups.

Request information and application materials.

Attend an Information Meeting
To find out more about this program:

Thursday, February 11
From 7 to 9 PM
Stevenson Hall, Room 3030
Sonoma State U. Campus
(see a campus map and directions)

Reserve your space by contacting the
Graduate Administrative Specialist
(707) 664-2682

"What I like about Sonoma State's OD Program is that it emphasizes learning by doing. The learning environment is less like academia and more like today's constantly changing workplace: one day we'd write a proposal with our project teams, the next day we would clarify expectations with our client, and another day we'd actually facilitate a meeting. Stimulated by our hands-on learning, we then knew what to look for in our reading."

Jon Pappas, M.A. (Class of 1999)
Manager of Training and Organization Development
Foster's Wine Estates Americas

"The OD program at Sonoma State University was a life-changing experience for me. I learned that OD practice is a constant opportunity for personal and professional growth. I had the opportunity to work with clients almost right away, which made it easy for me to understand the concepts, look for ways to apply them, and assimilate the reading material. Since I was coming from another culture, the cohort concept was very significant for me because it offered a safe learning environment that promotes self-awareness. Now in my practice, I apply OD in almost every aspect of my work and even in my personal life."

Nubia Padilla
(Class of 2002)
Director of Family Services
Becoming Independent

Future Search in Windsor

Nine alumni of the Psychology MA in Organization Development recently worked with Saul Eisen to facilitate a Future Search conference for the community of Windsor. The conference, co-sponsored by the Windsor Town Council and the Windsor Unified School District, developed a shared vision for a better future for young people in that community.

Eight groups of stakeholders participated in this three-day conference, including educators, administrators, government officials, youth service providers, and young people attending middle schools, high schools, and Santa Rosa Junior College. A follow-up meeting took place two months later, at which action groups formed to develop concrete goals for improvement in five prioritized areas: education, family support, community collaboration, youth activities and inclusiveness in the Windsor community.

Catherine Curtis is Helping to Improve Water Utilities in San Francisco

Catherine (Class of '92) began a new position with the City and County of San Francisco at the Public Utilities Commission. Her responsibilities include training, coordinating, and coaching Stationary Engineers to advance to meet the goals of the succession plan in the water department. Catherine is also a member of the Workforce Planning Committee, designing and implementing a mentoring program, managing a vocational training program, and delivering computer training and other training depending on the needs of the programs. There is an organizational change under way and Catherine is hired to help manage the change in the organization as they move through the succession plan.

Congratulations, Catherine!

SSU OD Program Receives Recognition at National Conference

Elissa Berrol and Saul Eisen were honored award recipients at the 2006 conference of the OD Network, which took place in San Francisco in October. Saul received the OD Network's Life-Time Achievement Award.

Elissa was one of three winners in the nation-wide Graduate Student Paper competition. Her paper is entitled "Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt--Self-Doubt and the Development of Self-As-Instrument: Implications for OD Practice."

At Nonprofits in the Green 2006, the annual conference sponsored by the Resource Center for Nonprofits of Sonoma County, David Tracy (Class of 2007) shows off his display of the decision-making model developed originally by Bob Tannenbaum and Warren Schmidt.

This framework identifies a range of leadership and group options available for making decisions. At one end, the manager tells or sells the decision that has already been made. At the other end, the group comes to a decision based on full discussion, and reflecting the priorities of all members of the group. In the middle, there are several decision-making methods, involving both managerial leadership and group involvement.

Also at this conference, Ruthe Browning, M.A. and David Warner, M.A. -- both OD Program alumni -- presented a well-attended workshop on how to lead successful strategic planning processes in organizations by developing a greater readiness on the part of participants, based on their identified shared values.

The Human Systems Blog is up and running!

• Learn about how OD got its name
• How self-managing teams were developed
• The perils of a superficial implementation process
• The easy and hard parts about facilitating groups toward their goals

Strategic Planning with the SSU School of Science and Technology

Joseph McIntyre and Shelly Anderson (class of 2005) assisted Saul Eisen in guiding a strategic planning process for the School of Science and Technology at SSU (see the Web site for this planning process). Two members from each of nine departments in the school, as well as administrative and technical staff, joined Dean Saeid Rahimi in this planning process. They produced a new mission statement, a vision statement, and prioritized strategic goals for the school.

Future OD Practices and Practitioner Competencies

As our world continues to change, what intervention strategies will be required by organizations and communities in the coming decade? And what practitioner competencies will be needed in order to implement these new approaches? See the results of a year-long Delphi study on these questions.

The OD Program is Administered by the
Psychology Department
School of Extended Education-- Special Sessions
Sonoma State University

Updated 1/25/10