Jepson Leadership Forum: Partners

Partnerships and Planning for the 2007-08 Forum

Each year, the Jepson Leadership Forum explores leadership themes in a free public series. Past forums have explored leadership in times of crisis, leadership and science and society, presidential leadership and other topics. The Jepson School is the nation’s first school devoted to leadership studies. Its liberal arts-based approach has been emulated by institutions of higher learning worldwide.

The Women Involved in Living and Learning (WILL) program also brings speakers to campus to explore gender and society each year. Established in 1980, WILL is a widely recognized program that has been replicated on campuses across the United States. It is the first university program in the United States to combine coursework in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies with leadership development of women students. WILL’s mission is to connect theory and practice, teaching students how to apply insights from their coursework to real life.

For the 2007-08 season, the Jepson Leadership Forum and the WILL Speaker Series have merged to co-produce these programs. In addition, the planning and funding consortium behind this Rhetoric & Reality series includes generous underwriting and ideas developed with help from:

The Richmond Quest, a campus-wide intellectual initiative;

The Office of Common Ground, the University’s diversity initiative, which fosters inclusive community through organizational and social change;

The Robins School of Business, which prepares students for tomorrow’s global economy;

The University of Richmond School of Law which educates legal scholars through theory, practice and service.

The Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, which brings together campus and community members in collaborative study, reflection and action to address contemporary social issues in Richmond and throughout the world.