Eller Partners with the City of Tucson
Paul Melendez, University Distinguished Outreach Professor and founder of the Center for Leadership Ethics in the Eller College of Management, recently worked with the director of the City of Tucson’s Department of Transportation and Mobility (DTM) to develop their organizational vision, mission and values.
A project that normally gets done in a number of years, Melendez and Sam Credio, director of the Department of Transportation and Mobility and University of Arizona Alum, were able to complete the job in just one year.
To Melendez, this wasn’t just about creating a simple write up that stated the mission, vision and values of the organization—it needed to have real meaning. “Leaders need to be able to understand, create and sustain organizational cultures that deliver results,” says Melendez. “The starting point is answering Who are we as an organization? Through hard work, dedication, collaboration and partnership, the DTM unveiled their new mission, vision and values. The work was tremendously inspirational, satisfying and rewarding. I am honored to have been entrusted to work with Sam and his team.”
“I’ve known Paul for a long time dating back to when he was a guest professor in our leadership academy back in 2015. When I was appointed director of transportation and mobility in 2022, I knew right away that Paul was the right person to help facilitate a retreat with the leadership team,” says Credio. “He provided an environment at Eller where we could think creatively and freely which allowed us the space to reimagine our mission, vision and value statements. Following the retreat, Paul supported our executive leadership team as we continued the hard work to complete the update of our mission, vision and values. I’m grateful for our long-standing partnership with the Eller College and Paul Melendez. We look forward to working together in the future.”
The partnership between the Eller College and DTM definitely did not go unnoticed. Michael Ortega, an alum of the Eller College of Management and City Manager of Tucson was made aware of the collaboration and felt a great sense of pride for the city and his alma mater. “The City of Tucson highly values its partnerships with various organizations, non-profits and community partners with the University of Arizona and Eller College of Management being no exception,” says Ortega. Every collarboration between the City and Eller College has not only brought value to the City, but to the citizens of Tucson as well. Similarly, as an Eller alum myself, I was able to see firsthand the value that these partnerships bring to the students and Eller administration. The city is proud of the results of the Eller College and DTM’s effort to develop the mission, vision and values for the department. Looking toward the future, we as an organization are excited to continue our partnership with the Eller College and collaborate on innovative projects to better the city of Tucson.”