Jepson Hosts Summer Institute on Leadership and the Liberal Arts

How can leadership be understood in countries such as Africa? Is religion an asset or a liability in public leadership? And how can leadership studies make good on the promise of the liberal arts?

These were just some of the questions addressed during the Jepson School Summer Institute for Leadership and the Liberal Arts held at the University of Richmond May 19-21. The Institute was an opportunity for scholars to explore topics in leadership and the liberal arts and the intersection between leadership and the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.

Scholars and students from nearly 60 colleges, 27 states and 6 countries - Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Mexico, Singapore, Canada and the U.S. - participated in the Summer Institute.

Session themes included character education, leadership across the curriculum, democratic leadership, international perspectives on leadership, personal religion and public leadership, philosophical foundations of leadership, women in leadership and diverse inclusive leadership.

Several Jepson faculty members presented papers including Dean Sandra Peart, Douglas Hicks, Terry Price and Thad Williamson. Williamson, Joanne Ciulla and Al Goethals also chaired sessions.

Peart presented a paper she co-authored with George Mason University economics professor David M. Levy titled, "We're All 'Persons' Now: Economists and their Opponents on Marriage, Property and the Franchise."

Hicks and Price presented papers titled, "Shaping an Inclusive Culture: Three Cases of Religious Diversity" and "How to Use Moral Theory to Justify Rule-Breaking Behavior," respectively.

"If you came to learn how to break the rules, you're going to be disappointed," Price joked with the audience, saying that although it was a catchy title, he intended to show why people should rarely break the moral rules.

Williamson's paper was titled, "Cutting Leadership Down to Size: Disaggregating Leadership from Authority by Studying Worker-owned Firms."

In addition, 2007 Jepson graduate Stefanie Simon presented a paper she co-authored with Harvard University professor Todd Pittinsky titled, "Intergroup Leadership: Promoting Positive Relations in Israel." The paper discussed research she conducted for the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard.

The Institute was an extension of a workshop held last summer at Claremont McKenna College titled "Leadership Across the Liberal Arts Curriculum" that was co-sponsored by Claremont McKenna College, Loyola Marymount University and the University of Richmond. The Institute was made possible by a grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation.

Peart believes the Institute was a good example of how the Jepson School approaches the study of leadership.

"One participant remarked that the Summer Institute showcased 'what the Jepson School of Leadership Studies does so well.' It brought together scholars from various disciplines, including history, philosophy, economics and religion to examine problems in leadership from various disciplinary perspectives," she said. "In that sense, the Summer Institute represented, in microcosm, what we do all year long at Jepson."