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March 25, 2005 New minor encourages servant-leadership lifestyleSEARCY - Beginning this fall, Harding University's Honors College will offer an interdisciplinary leadership studies minor.Honors students who opt for the minor may draw on courses from most of Harding's other colleges to harmonize their leadership studies with other academic interests. The course choices offered for the minor are intended to provide a strong, broad foundation for outstanding University students who want to develop a servant-leadership lifestyle. "I don't believe that there is any one academic discipline with a corner on truth or truth seeking," says Dr. Jeffrey T. Hopper, dean of the Honors College. "The leadership studies minor is all about integrating various areas of study. It makes sense that one might best study a complex subject such as leadership through multiple approaches developed through psychology, religion, communication, medicine and management." The minor unfolds around two core courses and a selection of interdisciplinary courses from five themed course clusters. These clusters include communication: oral and written; interpersonal relations; management: conflict management and organizational management; foundations and strategies for leadership; and applied development of leadership skills. Students who wish to minor in leadership studies may come from any academic major, but must be members of the Honors College. One of the required core classes, HNRS 204, is designed for Honors Scholars, who qualify by being named National Merit Finalists, receiving a Trustee Scholarship, or being selected from the pool of applicants scoring 31 or higher on the ACT (1330 or higher on the SAT). As a result, placement is competitive even within the college. "The idea that the leadership studies minor would reside exclusively with the Honors College came from the deans of the other colleges," Hopper explains. "The deans felt this would ensure a strong academic standard for admission and retention." HNRS 204 is an analysis of Western worldview with an emphasis on theories of leadership and human interaction. It includes the interpersonal, small group, intercultural, organizational and public spheres in the postmodern world. Students who opt for the leadership studies minor will also have to complete an approved leadership practicum, HNRS 410. The practicum includes seeking out and securing a leadership position, developing a portfolio, planning and implementing leadership strategies, performing self-evaluations and critiqued oral presentations, and meeting regularly with a mentor. "I expect this program to benefit our students in a couple of significant ways," Hopper says. "First, they must learn to personally synthesize ideas and information that comes to them from various perspectives. Second, Harding is uniquely qualified to study leadership from the perspective of Christian service - we believe that this is the only way to lead - and this perspective permeates the institution as a whole. "Many of our strongest students are quite interested in leadership studies, and I expect several of our current students to jump right in," Hopper adds. By offering the leadership studies minor, Harding joins Ivy League schools and other prestigious colleges with similar programs. "What makes this program unique is Harding University," Hopper says. "The staff, faculty and student body all recognize that we are here on this earth to be leaders in service. All the elements for this program were already in place; it was just time to bring all those elements into focus. We therefore benefit from a unique and extant culture of 'service through leadership.'" For more information contact: |
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