LeaderShape cut, then reinstated

The LeaderShape program, which had been canceled for this year, has been reinstated and will take place once more. The intended cancellation was a component of the currently-ongoing comprehensive review of leadership programs at the Institute.

" A lot of discussion is going on about how we spend our money currently for leadership and how we get the most for our money, " said William Schafer, vice president of Student Affairs.

LeaderShape is a week-long summer program that costs approximately $1,000 per student. The program is run by a national non-profit organization. Tech typically has 40 to 45 students participating.

Funding for the program comes from a combination of private donations, participant fees, and Institute funding. Plans were made to avoid sending students this year to evaluate its value to the campus. " We thought, ' Well, let ' s take a one-year break and see how our money is really being used, ' " Schafer said.

However, based on input from student leaders on campus, Student Affairs decided to reinstate the program. " We ' ve been talking to several people and we ' ve decided to find the money for it again this year, " Schafer said.

Funding for the program still needs to be secured.

LeaderShape participants spend the week holding discussions on making an impact on campus and determining plans to implement upon their return. " You can hear from the students involved that they generated ideas that they brought back to the campus, and that ' s a very good thing to [have] occur, " Schafer said.

While administrators have been generally pleased with the program, there is concern that it may not be benefitting a sufficient number of students considering its price.

" It ' s strictly a matter of cost and benefit, " said Robert McMath, vice provost for Undergraduate Studies and Academic Affairs. " We ' re still in very tough budget times. It ' s a simple question of trying to maximize the impact of the dollars we have. "

This goal of maximizing the effect of the funds available for leadership education has led to the current review of leadership programs.

" We ' re in the process of trying to re-energize a discussion that started probably five years ago on leadership education programs, " Schafer said. " A lot of good work happened five years ago, and I think we lost a little bit of steam in recent times. "

The Institute is now taking steps to accomplish this goal. According to McMath, Tech has hired Howard Prince, director of the Center for Ethical Leadership at the University of Texas at Austin, to meet with administration, faculty and student leaders and advise the administration on ways to improve leadership programs.

Prior to taking his position at the University of Texas at Austin, Prince founded the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond, implementing the first undergraduate degree program in leadership in the world. He also spent over a decade teaching leadership at West Point. Tech will also appoint a new Servant Leadership Chair, an endowed position originally held by ex-Mobil Oil Vice President Arnold Stancell, who has retired. A new full-time position focused on extracurricular leadership will be created within the Division of Student Affairs.

According to Schafer, some of the impetus for improving the leadership programs comes from the upcoming capital campaign. " A lot of people believe that a well-thought out leadership program would be attractive to donors to help us build an even better leadership program, " he said. " So we ' re trying to put these building blocks together, our internal review, bringing in somebody, and [taking] a lot of the great work that ' s been done in the last five years and [moving] it on to the next level. "

Schafer says the Institute hopes to use its review to build a world-class leadership program at Tech that will incorporate the best aspects of existing programs. " I think what ' s important [is] to look at what students are receiving from LeaderShape that they like, and what we are currently doing or could do in the future that would offer those same positives, " he said.