The Leadership Institute was created in the summer of 2005 and has now been held during each of the past four summers.
The institute was a collaborative project for the Dean of the College division and included members from the Center for Leadership & Student Involvement, Residential Life, Center for Career Services, First-Year Experience, Center for Outreach, Volunteerism and Education, Counseling & Psychological Services, and the ALANA Cultural Center.
This working group began its work with three charges:
- To consider ways to reduce redundancies that existed across student training programs,
- To reduce the time commitments required of division staff to support said training programs and,
- To create opportunities for the invited students to network across existing boundaries determined by position.
Students invited to the institute included resident advisors, community coordinators, apartment managers, Links (Orientation peer advisors), Student Government Association executive board, Colgate Activities Board executive board, Career Services peer advisors, and COVE interns. Since the first institute, additional student leaders from Greek Letter communities, COVE, and admission interns have participated.
During the spring of 2005, another working group met and embraced the social change model of leadership development as the theoretical framework for leadership initiatives at Colgate. This model became part of the underlying foundation for the institute. Further, the division's use of the public achievement model was also considered and incorporated. Finally, the Vision for Residential Education became the means through which the two models and three charges were woven together to create the institute.
While some of the partners on the planning team have changed, the overall mission and vision have not changed. The first two institutes, and the creative and design process that led to the first institute were chaired by Corey Landstrom, assistant dean of student affairs. Tim Mansfield, assistant dean of student affairs, was the chairperson for the third and fourth institutes.
The roots of the Leadership Institute actually trace back to 2003 when a division working group reviewed and assessed student leadership training. Recommendations from that working group led to two joint leadership training experiences that were offered in the August 2003 and 2004.
In March 2006, a team of Colgate staff including Landstrom and Jennifer Adams, assistant dean of the college and director of residential life, presented at the ACPA Annual Conference in Indianapolis. The presentation PowerPoint is available.