By Jen Williams

The Department of Agricultural Education, Communications, and Leadership at Oklahoma Sate University is home to three of the directors for the Leadership Education Institute. Dr.s Penny Pennington, Cindy Blackwell, and Bill Weeks are working with colleagues Christine Langone from the University of Georgia and John Barbuto from the University of Nebraska to develop the Leadership Education Institute for faculty in colleges of agriculture interested in furthering their study of teaching and research in leadership.

The program is designed to be a professional development opportunity for faculty members currently teaching or planning to teach leadership courses for undergraduate students.

In October, LEI participants and directors all convened in New Hampshire for an intense leadership theory retreat. The major theories in leadership were taught over a three-day period. Participants gained leadership theory knowledge that they were able to take back into their classrooms.

This spring, OSU will host three of the participants as they come to campus to learn more about the leadership workgroup. The participants will meet with College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources administrators as well as faculty and students in our department.

This summer, the LEI group will meet in Texas to complete a research retreat which will give participants more insight into researching and publishing leadership.

If you're interested in becoming a member of the Leadership Education Institute, please complete the online application.