Campus LEAD Center Helps
Students Get Involved, Develop 'The Whole Person'

By Paul Mueller I June 13, 2005

For William S. Howe, students should experience far more than classrooms and reference shelves during their academic careers. They should also learn leadership, engagement, activism and development - LEAD, in short - and as director of the new LEAD Center on the UCSD campus, Howe does his best to make that possible.

A department of Student Life, the LEAD Center's broad goal is "empowering students to serve society" through a nexus of transformational leadership, entrepreneurial and service opportunities designed to engage students on campus and in the community. Education, says Howe, involves more than academic discipline.

"The LEAD Center helps all UCSD students get involved with the many opportunities available to them - student government, student organizations whether college- or campus-wide, committees, internships, community service and social justice, leadership development, mentorships, and athletic and recreational programs," he says. "LEAD seeks to to assist each student in harnessing his or her passion. We believe that education should involve the 'whole person' - the development of social, emotional, ethical, physical, and even spiritual capacities, as well as intellectual skills and abilities."

The center, being developed in stages, offers consultations with individual students about leadership styles, abilities and qualities, and staffers offer suggestions on ways to develop and empower student leadership skills.

The LEAD Center also welcomes consultations with student groups and organizations about leadership and other needs, and will conduct assessments that can include observation of activities, interviews, and other diagnostic tools to help groups enhance their effectiveness.

The center will also work with colleges, units, departments, centers, institutes, and athletic teams for similar ends - assessing performance and increasing success.

LEAD will offer workshops, dialogues, speeches and presentations for students on a wide array of topics relevant to leadership and community service; workshops for staff working in student leadership and community service roles; and provide training and development activities for both students and staff.

"UCSD provides a first-rate academic education," says Howe. "But success in life and in a career almost always involves much more than a classroom-based education.

"Companies today, for example, are eager to hire candidates who evidence strong leadership, decision-making, social interaction and communication skills, along with the specific intellectual knowledge needed to perform in a position. LEAD seeks to help UCSD students connect with opportunities that provide practice and skill development in the broad areas that are correlated with success and satisfaction."

Students can get quickly involved in groups focused on diversity, social justice, community service, fraternity and sorority life, student government, entrepreneurship, or spirituality - or take part in a Certificate Leadership Program -- says Howe, and enhance their lives along with their academic and professional careers. Another key benefit: students can form lasting connections to alumni and community leaders.

With one of the university's principal goals being improving the quality of student life, Howe and his colleagues might justifiably be described as taking the LEAD in that vital task.

For more information about the LEAD Center, stop by the third-floor Price Center offices, call 858-534-0789, email leadcenter@ucsd.edu or visit http://lead.ucsd.edu.