Grayce Belvedere Young, Chair, National Advisory Board; and,
Jeff Stocco, Director, Center for Servant Leadership
Greetings! Is it two months since we met on campus? Thanks again to those who were able to attend. The Center for Servant Leadership Staff was thrilled to meet you and impressed with your dedication and support. We are pleased that you were able to meet Gustavus students, since their development is at the heart of our collective work.
The Center for Servant Leadership had a very successful year in 2011-12, measured by a number of standards. First, we consolidated four offices (Career Center, Community Service Center, Center for Vocational Reflection, Church Relations) into one physical space in the Johnson Student Union, effectively opening the Center for Servant Leadership in Fall 2011. While we worked to integrate our programs, each area continued to offer a full array of services to a broad range of students.
The first clear sign of the integration was the presentations we made to First Term Seminar sections during Fall Semester, 2011. Ten staff made 30 presentations to FTS sections last fall. In addition, most staff were involved in conducting 50 sessions for 425 prospective students and parents for the Admission Office in 2011-12.
Highlights for the year include:
- Partnered with Student Activities to present a successful fall and spring leadership series, Gusties in Ongoing Leadership Development (GOLD).
- The Servant Leadership Program (SLP) facilitated leadership development for a selected group of students, ranging from first year to senior.
- Piloted an alumni career development program to 30 alumni/friends during January/February 2012.
- Established a Faculty Fellows program for community-based learning, as well as a training institute for eight additional faculty and community partners, February 2012. Selected three new faculty fellows for 2012-13.
- Development of a Cultivating Servant Leaders series for congregations, clergy, and staff/volunteers.
- Vocation for Life retreats for students and alumni, and collaborative workshops with other ELCA-related colleges for our joint alumni.
- Habitat Spring Break Work Trips, incorporating the principles of servant leadership into the work of 94 students at three locations across the country.
- Continued our outreach to faculty partners, who are connected to us through career explorations and internships, service learning, outreach to congregations, infusing vocation in the curriculum, relationships with employers, and guidance for students considering graduate and professional school.
Our goals for 2012-13 are to build on the successes we’ve had this year by deepening and broadening our work. After “living” servant leadership for one year, we plan to further refine the language of servant leadership for Gustavus, taking the work of Greenleaf and Spears and applying it to an undergraduate liberal arts setting. In addition to our work with career, service, vocation, and outreach programs, we hope to develop further leadership programs for students, faculty/staff, and alumni. In some cases, this may be more extensive partnering with faculty, staff, and students on student leadership initiatives. It will also include an expansion and enhancement of our outreach programs to alumni.
While the vast majority of our students utilize at least one service of the Center for Servant Leadership, we want to deepen and further integrate their experience within the CSL. Along with this is the ultimate goal that students will interact with the CSL at least once during their College career.
An exciting addition for 2012-13 will be an alumni mentoring program that was piloted by the Department of Economics and Management over the last two years. The CSL will assume administrative responsibility for the program this year, expanding the program in the number of alumni and students, enhancing the curriculum, and broadening the reach of the program to other academic majors.
A clear and supportive message we heard from Board members at our May meeting was “How can we help?” During 2012-13, we hope that the National Advisory Board will provide feedback and input on our work with campus constituents, including students and faculty/staff. How do we develop programs that enhance the student experience, and how do we advance the practice of servant leadership with faculty and staff?
We also hope that the National Advisory Board will lay the groundwork for 2013-14, when the CSL and NAB will focus on our outreach partnerships with congregations, community, corporate, alumni, and other partners.
Upcoming Meeting Dates for the CSL Advisory Board:
- Friday, September 28, 2012 from Noon – 3 p.m. at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis
- Friday, January 18, 2013 from Noon – 3 p.m. at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation building in St. Paul
- Friday, May 3, 2013 from 10:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Gustavus