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Colleges Must Foster Leadership
by Saundra Tracy, President, Alma College (MI)
Published in the Detroit Free Press, February 20,
2006
Two years ago, Governor Granholm issued a call to double the number of
college graduates in Michigan in the next 10 years as a centerpiece of
her platform to improve Michigan’s economic status. Clearly, college
graduates are essential for improving the state’s economy. But there
are two even larger questions to be raised: What are the essential skills
needed to position Michigan in a global and rapidly changing environment?
Are our colleges and universities preparing graduates that are up to the
challenge?
Read the headlines on any given day and the answer to how effectively
we are preparing graduates for the future is mixed. On the one hand, we
read of great technological breakthroughs and business successes. At the
same time we are stunned by the glaring failures of leaders who substitute
their own personal gain for the long-term health of organizations. These
failures threaten not only the economy of our state but also the future
of our nation and world.
The good news is that colleges and universities have increased their focus
on job preparedness, requiring more depth in the field of study for teachers,
medical specialties, and many other professions. In addition, colleges
from the liberal arts tradition have honed the preparedness of their graduates
in those skills most sought after by employers according to the Department
of Labor—communication, problem solving, analytical reasoning and
interpersonal relations.
The bad news is few colleges and universities are addressing the rampant
short-term decision making, what’s-in-it-for-me leadership that
threatens the health and well being of Michigan companies and communities
— and our future in the wider economy. Thomas Friedman in The
World is Flat contends that higher education does a pretty good job
of preparing specialists with technical skills and generalists with broad
skills. What is missing is an education that develops versatility, character
and the discipline to focus on long term versus short-term gain. In other
words, we must prepare more responsible leaders — leaders that are
both responsive to the changing world around them and responsible
for their own actions and organizations and people entrusted to them.
Some private colleges around the country have risen to this challenge.
Sweet Briar College, a women’s college in Virginia, helps each new
student explore her leadership potential through its innovative LEAP Program,
and Austin College in Texas offers scholarships to selected entering students
who pursue intensive leadership development experiences in its Posey Leadership
Center. At Alma College, we have identified three outcomes for all
of our graduates, regardless of field of study, that will set them apart
in their communities and workplaces: 1. a commitment to an ethical purpose
that transcends self, 2. the ability to lead change, and 3. the ability
to make decisions that are in the long-term interests of an organization
and its people. These outcomes will be achieved through a wide range of
programs under the auspices of our new Center for Responsible Leadership.
Is preparing responsible leaders a lofty goal? Absolutely, but it is an
essential one if our graduates in every field of study are to change the
course of this state and nation. American colleges and universities were
founded to address the needs of this fledgling nation and state. The imperative
to meet Michigan’s needs may be even more so today—an imperative
to develop responsible leaders who bring a new sense of moral purpose,
long-term vision and facility with change that is sorely missing. It will
take nothing less to transform this state.
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