2-Year Curriculum
The core Leadership Academy curriculum is delivered through off-campus, weekend retreats at no cost to participants. Three of the four retreats address key leadership topics through hands-on activities and discussions led by college faculty, corporate guests, and program alumni. A fourth retreat is provided by FRAMATOME, one of the Leadership Academy corporate sponsors. Students participate in one retreat during their first fall semester, two retreats in the following spring semester, and a retreat in the second fall semester. Retreats begin on Friday afternoon and end on Sunday afternoon. All travel, lodging and food expenses are covered by the academy.
Students dedicate the bulk of their third and fourth semesters of participation to creating and implementing a Capstone Community Leadership Service Project. The project offers students an experiential way to apply what they have learned through the academy and to contribute to their local communities.
In addition to retreats and the service project, the academy sponsors various other activities during the academic year. These events include, but are not limited to, motivational dinners, etiquette dinners, social networking workshops and presentations by industry professionals.
Year One
Team-building and collaboration are essential skills for leaders to understand and apply. This introductory module begins with students learning about their Cohort members to begin building camaraderie. Emphasis is placed on the differences between leadership and management, basic communications, change management, and problem-solving.
Good leaders know their beliefs & values and make choices that align with them. Cohort members start with an in-depth evaluation of themselves – who they are, what influenced them to make them unique, and how those influences defined their assumptions and beliefs. Students are given a dominant personality self-assessment. They are provided an ethical decision-making approach and are challenged with value collisions and difficult conversations to help them understand the importance of speaking-up.
TBD
Leaders must be able to deal with difficult circumstances of many types. One of the most difficult is communications. Working with one of our corporate sponsors, Framatome, Cohort members are trained on how to successfully facilitate and navigate uncomfortable conversations in high-stakes situations where people with strong emotions and differing opinions are an integral part of the conflict.
Year Two
TBD
Graduation is a time of celebration. The Cohort has reached the culmination of their Leadership Academy experience. The event is attended by the Cohort and selected friends, the follow-on Cohort, the Leadership Academy Advisory Board, and the Dean of the College of Engineering. The Capstone Showcase is the Cohort Capstone teams’ presentations of their project results and lessons learned. It is a time for all in attendance to be proud!
Cohort Module & Retreat Dates
