Minoring In Leadership

Florida schools focus on training leaders
by Eric Hastie

Can you learn to be a leader? Most definitely. While you can’t get your major in leadership, you can earn a minor at some colleges and universities. “It’s just a great way to network and make connections with people all over campus,” says Rosie Howard, an education major and office manager of the leadership center at the University of South Florida. “The people in your classes range from editor of the school paper to the president of SG.” The minor also makes graduates more marketable to employers by preparing them for management roles.

An Accommodating Minor
     At the University of West Florida, the curriculum for the leadership communications minor isn’t concrete, which allows students to take classes that support their interests. So you can lay the foundation for your future and get a jump on the competition by developing your leadership style.
     Offered by the College of Arts and Sciences, the minor stresses leadership practice in real-world situations through hands-on learning, including community-service learning projects. “One group recently developed a program to assist female members of the community who had been released from jail,” says Dr. Athena du Pré, assistant professor in the Communication Arts Department.
     Including those who have the minor built in with their Organizational Communication major, we have around 20 students completing the 15 credit minor,” du Pré says.
     “We have the five core classes that they must take, but sometimes to meet the needs of a certain student, we can substitute one class for another,” du Pré says. The classes, worth three credits each, include topics covering four types of communication: organizational, leadership, interpersonal, and group and team. The final class, Advanced Presentational Strategies, pulls together what students learned in previous classes.
     “A lot of students get to their junior or senior year and don’t realize we offer the program but wish they had taken it,” du Pré says. “We’ve also noticed an increase in the number of graduate students choosing to complete the minor.” “It prepares the student to assume a position of leadership,” says Don Parmely, an organizational communication major. “Potential employers may be more inclined to hire an individual with a leadership minor.”
     In the future, du Pré wants to make incoming freshmen more aware of the minor. “We’re currently planning a program to provide guest lectures on leadership in freshmen classes,” du Pré says. Contact du Pré at adupre@uwf.edu and Parmely at dparmey@mail.gulf.net.

Nothing Minor About It
     At the University of South Florida, minoring in leadership means completing 18 credits—but you also have to teach a class yourself.
     “Students also have to teach a class on leadership,” Howard says. Many students give a presentation to a club they’re already involved in, but participants can approach any group they wish and present an informative leadership tutorial. Students then can evaluate their role as a leader and inform others about useful leadership skills.
     USF’s program started in January 1999, “due to student interest and also because some professors had taken leadership classes in graduate school and found them interesting,” Howard says.
     Members of USF's “Leadership House,” a leadership-development program, also helped create the minor by stressing its need. “Leadership development has helped me prepare for the future because it has helped me get an understanding of human interaction and how to achieve a common goal,” says Sammy Kalmowicz, a senior in political science and communications.
     Required classes include leadership fundamentals, reading, and community practicum. These basic courses lay the foundation for the other four core classes. “In the practicum, you have to apply everything you learn,” Howard says. “One group of students involved in the music department designed a forum for the school’s music students to learn about getting a new building. A lot of students get involved more in school after taking the classes, while others start out in clubs and use the classes to heighten their experiences.
     For collegians who can’t fit in all six classes to complete the minor, USF also offers a Certificate of Leadership Studies for completion of the three core courses. “It shows that I’ve studied the different theories of leadership development and implementation and that I’m capable of figuring the best solution to group projects,” Kalmowicz says. “It gives me a leg up on other applicants and also serves as an icebreaker between me and future employers.”
     One of the most unique aspects of USF’s program is that instructors usually aren’t professors. “We have people such as the director of student activities to the Greek Life advisor teach some of our classes," Howard says. “When a working professional with real-world knowledge commits to one of the classes, they become much more informative for the students.” Contact Howard at rhoward3@soleil.acomp.usf.edu and Kalmowicz at skalmowicz@brill.acomp.usf.edu.

A Minor with Major Aspirations
     At the University of Miami, students in the leadership minor get to know real leaders in person: they shadow top community leaders for a semester.
    Each semester, Dr. Susan Mullane, department of exercise and sport sciences assistant professor, gives the students a leadership profile project. “They have to spend the semester with a community leader,” she says. “The students do everything from watching their leader in action to doing interviews and even working with the leader’s colleagues.” After the project, many students get jobs through their contacts. Mullane says mentoring is a large part of leadership success, and she tries to get students to pair up with professionals in their field of study.
     “I started a leadership class in 1989 and handpicked 10 leaders to participate,” Mullane says. “The original class included two topics of interests that were developed into classes of their own: ethics and motivation.” Ethics, motivation, and management skills now are the core courses.
     “After taking the three required classes, students can choose from a variety of other classes to complete the minor,” Mullane says. In addition to the core three, students choose two more classes from a long list of alternates. “We like to specialize the minor to each area of study,” she says. “We have students from all walks of life in the program, from music to business to pre-law and communications, so it‘s important to meet their specific needs.”
     Mullane says that many students feel they must already be active in campus organizations to participate in the courses. “I try to get people who aren’t otherwise involved and persuade them to take the classes,” she says. “A lot of times, the classes become a springboard for the students to join clubs.”
     Leaders also share their experiences with each other by writing essays. “They also keep a leadership journal in which they write daily entries about anything they learned or did that day,” Mullane says.The minor’s reputation continues to grow every year, and Mullane currently visits club meetings in her free time to let them know about the classes. “Word of mouth also helps promote the program,” she says. “I‘m currently working on getting a major started, but that won’t be for a while.” Contact Dr. Mullane at Smullane98@aol.com.

Learning to LEAD
The Leadership Enrichment and Academic Development scholars programs (LEAD) serves first-year students who are interested in leadership, academics, and service.
Although UCF doesn’t yet offer a leadership minor, LEAD offers leadership studies courses. With a selective admission, applicants must meet strict requirements including a 3.0 GPA, completion of the prerequisite leadership classes, and an obligation to participate in LEAD sponsored programs such as service projects sponsored by Habitat for Humanity. Visit http://reach.ucf.edu/~lead/ or contact Associate Director Jan Lloyd at jlloyd@mail.ucf.edu.

Leadership Lair
USF's Leadership House, located in Theta Hall, highlights the importance of sharing tasks to enhance leadership skills. The 39 residents live in the house for one year, where they participate in projects such as building a homecoming float or holding a holiday clothing and canned food drive. Completed without advisor or faculty supervision, each activity gives residents hands-on leadership experience. After the year, many students move out but stay active.
Each new year begins with team-building exercises and social activities. The main purpose of orientation, however, is to develop a community between new and existing members in hopes that everyone will show support for each other. Visit http://infinity.reserv.usf.edu/~leadership/ or contact House Master Frank Hamilton at fhamilto@coba.usf.edu.