By Ricky Thompson
As the leaders of tomorrow gear up today for the challenges the future may bring, Northeastern University’s College of Arts and Sciences has recently made leadership studies available as a minor.
The minor is aimed at students who seek the background and skills needed to become strong, effective, knowledgeable leaders in a variety of fields and disciplines, said the Director of Interdisciplinary Studies Gerald Herman.
“Leadership isn’t really a career,” Herman said. “It’s an approach to a career.”
Herman played a key role in developing the program, which was nearly two-and-a-half years in the making. He will serve as its interim director until a permanent candidate is hired.
According to the curriculum published on the university’s Web site, the leadership studies program is broken down into three distinct categories: public policy, military leadership and women and leadership.
So far, military leadership has been the most popular choice, Herman said, citing that Northeastern’s ROTC program has been encouraging its cadets to take on the minor.
“It’s a very good thing for them to have on their college records as they move into their military careers,” he said.
The three categories are areas of both current and future growth, Herman said.
“We are not limited to the three tracks,” he said. “We can establish other tracks in the future.”
The minor “provides models for becoming a leader no matter what career you take on,” Herman said.
“In any arena where you are asked to work with other people or be able to have an influence on the development on that arena, the leadership minor would be useful, but there isn’t a job called ‘leader’ that you go into. It’s providing a set of increasingly important skills for people in a variety of areas,” he said.
The Leadership Education Growth Opportunities (LEGO) program also played a role in the coordination of the minor.
“The intention is that the LEGO program is a way to introduce leadership to students through a series of not-for-credit programs,” said Director of Student Leadership John Silveria. “There’s an Emerging Leaders Program, Developing Leaders Conferences and Experienced Leaders Seminar that are set up to engage students from their freshman year right through their senior year. The thought is that students who are interested in leadership may also be interested in it as an area of study,” he said.
Silveria teaches Introduction to Leadership Studies, which serves as the stepping stone for students interested in pursuing the minor.
“The class is basically an introduction to leadership theory and we look at a variety of leadership theories within the class,” Silveria said. “Students have a chance to read through them, apply them, reflect on them, see how they would utilize them and see what works for them.”
Criminology and corrections major John Guilfoil credits Silveria’s style of teaching as one of the course’s greatest assets.
“[Silveria] provides valuable insights through different theories, different styles of leadership and different ways to approach it,” he said.
As the Student Government Association’s Vice President for Administration and Public Relations, Guilfoil said interacting with student leaders from other university organizations in Silveria’s classroom has also been a valuable experience.
“It’s not your typical lecture class,” he said.
Although Guilfoil has not officially declared the minor yet, he said he intends to do so if he can fit it into his schedule.
“I think it would benefit me in the long run, so I’m definitely going to consider it,” he said.
