 | |
| Vol. 17, No. 8 | Oct. 23, 1997 |
| |
| Vol. 17, No. 8 | Oct. 23, 1997 |
You are the leaders of the future" has echoed in the ears of generations of college students, but there has been little education on developing leadership skills. That's all been changed at UD by the Leadership Education at Delaware (LEAD) program, initiated by Roland Smith, vice president of student life, and directed by Audrey Helfman of the College of Human Resources, Education and Public Policy.
UD students have an opportunity to learn how to become effective leaders through two three-credit courses, "Leadership, Integrity and Change"-one offered to freshman and sophomores in the spring, and the other to juniors and seniors in the fall.
Students in the class must have a recommendation from a faculty or staff member and complete an application with a brief statement of why they would be good candidates for the course and how gaining leadership skills would help in their development at the University of Delaware.
"We encourage faculty and staff to suggest the course to those they feel are potential leaders, and I welcome inquiries from any interested student," Helfman said.
"Leadership is basically the process of getting things done and accomplishing goals through interaction with others. Leadership can be learned. Not everyone can be a CEO or president of an organization, but there are many levels of leadership in organizations," Helfman pointed out.
"Students have to determine what values are important to them, what their goals are and how to carry them out. One of the things I stress in class is 'finding your voice,' speaking up and taking risks. Leadership involves speaking out and not remaining silent when you have suggestions and comments," Helfman said.
"You make mistakes and that's okay because you learn from these. One exercise I have the students do is write on the left side of a piece of paper the mistakes they have made during the semester and on the right side what they learned from those mistakes. Then I have them tear the paper in half and throw away the mistakes because they are past and what you have learned from them is the important lesson," Helfman said.
The first freshman/sophomore class last spring was focused on becoming student leaders, using the campus as a laboratory. The students were required to select a student organization that interested them and become involved. Through participation in organizations, students applied what they learned in class on how to interact with others and hone their leadership skills.
There are extensive reading assignments on leadership, and students have mentors, both campus leaders and members of the Academy of Lifelong Learning who have had experience as leaders in business organizations.
Helfman uses problem-based learning in her teaching. One class problem involved examining academic dishonesty. Students explored how they would react when faced with this problem. In addition, students researched the topic at UD and also examined other schools' policies. Nancy Geist Giacomini, student life, spoke to one section on academic dishonesty, and they, in turn, gave her their input, based on their findings, Helfman said. While they thought that UD policy was good, they suggested that it could be presented to faculty and students more effectively and that a better understanding of the policy would lead to more consistency in enforcement.
That original class has formed a student organization, the Leadership Development Corps, with Helfman as the faculty adviser. Nina Harris, Trabant Student Center, also coordinates leadership programs and is involved in the corps.
The junior/senior section of Leadership, Integrity and Change, offered for the first time this fall, has a somewhat different format because upperclassmen are preparing for careers, Helfman said. Students complete a community service project that will have an impact on the lives of people beyond the University community. As in the other class, they are learning to learn about themselves and their values, how to establish goals and how to motivate people.
"The emphasis is on encouraging positive change and not falling into the 'this is how it's always been done' syndrome," Helfman said.
Helfman has a background in leadership training. Through the University's Institute for Public Administration, she has been active throughout the state in offering courses and workshops on professional development and leadership to various groups, such as the municipal clerks in Delaware and local government leaders in Sussex County and is involved in coordinating leadership programs for women in public administration this fall and next year. She also serves on the Delaware Commission for National and Community Service.
For information about the student leadership course, contact Helfman at 831-1708 or by e-mail at ahelfman@udel.edu. The deadline for applying to the spring class is Oct. 31. Applications may be obtained at 106 Alison Hall West or electronically at www.udel.edu/chep/lic/
For information about the Leadership Development Corps, contact Harris at 831-2428.
-Sue Swyers Moncure
