We are pleased to announce that the Global Liberal Arts Alliance will offer Leadership in Action, a leadership development seminar for undergraduates from Alliance schools. The seminar is comprised of three modules running from May 2025 to April 2026, including an in-person workshop at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco in July 2025.
The seminar is offered with the belief that all students have the capacity to lead. We embrace the notion of non-positional leadership, a small ‘l’ leader who can engage in leadership roles in different places and times within a group, organization, or community. Students will develop confidence and leadership skills to take on a variety of leadership roles in initiatives that address social issues about which they are passionate and be prepared to continue their leadership development as they pursue additional opportunities on campus and in their communities. The competencies needed to develop leadership capacity and the contexts within which this happens are strongly aligned with the practices and learning outcomes of a liberal arts education, making our campuses a fertile and supportive space for young leaders to develop.
Through readings, conversations with peers from around the world, and guided reflection on personal experiences, students will write a personal philosophy of leadership and develop themselves within that framework to be prepared to take on a variety of leadership roles. In the process, students will develop transferable skills including self-understanding and identifying personal values, showing empathy, being empowering, goal setting, teamwork, being inclusive, communicating, listening and facilitation, conflict resolution, behaving ethically, and leading with confidence.
Undergraduates at an Alliance member institution should consult their campus’ Alliance Liaison about the application process.
Seminar Outcomes
The seminar adopts the Knowing-Being-Doing framework for leadership development. Through the seminar, students will:
- Articulate a personal philosophy of leadership and its application to working within a community to address problems. [Knowing]
- Engage in personal reflection to understand themselves better, identify confidently as a leader, and navigate their own identities in relationship to leadership. [Being]
- Apply leadership skills in a campus/community initiative on an issue of importance to them that creates positive change. [Doing]
Students completing the full-year seminar will receive a letter from the Global Liberal Arts Alliance certifying their participation in and contributions to the seminar.
Leadership Initiative Requirement
The Leadership in Action Seminar is designed to support students in the development of or continuation of an initiative on their campus, campus community, or home community. We welcome a range of ideas with the essential criteria being that the student applies what they learn in the seminar to carry out their initiative. The initiative should be feasible to implement using existing resources available in the 2025-2026 academic year; students should not assume that additional resources will be available from their campus.
Pre-Seminar Work
The seminar opens with four one-hour sessions during which students will develop a peer network, be mentored, meet seminar leaders, hear guest speakers, and begin work on their personal leadership philosophy and the design of their leadership initiative.
- Orientation Session – Students will meet as a group with the workshop facilitators to discuss the scope of the seminar and review expectations.
- Pre-Seminar Sessions – Students will engage in three one-hour pre-seminar sessions. Each session will have readings, activities, and reflections for students to complete prior to meeting synchronously with their cohort. Students should expect to spend up to three hours per week preparing for each session.
- Leadership Speakers & Small Group Meetings – Between virtual pre-seminar sessions, students will participate in conversations with young leaders from around the world. These sessions will last an hour and a half, with time to meet with fellow students to discuss and talk about their pre-seminar assignments. Students must attend at least two guest speaker sessions.
- Pre-Seminar Summative Assignments – Before arriving in Morocco, each student will prepare a draft of their leadership philosophy statement and their leadership initiative proposal and will have interviewed a community leader.
In-Person Module
Students will attend a five day in-person workshop on the campus of Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco, July 21-25.
- Sessions – The workshop will expand on the three virtual sessions with a mix of activities, reflection, and conversations with guest speakers and local leaders.
- Excursions – There will be local excursions, including a trip to the ancient walled city of Fez, a World Heritage Site founded more than a thousand years ago that continues to be a vital and active medina today.
- Workshop Summative Assignments – Each student will revise their leadership philosophy statement and leadership initiative description during the workshop and submit final versions three weeks after the workshop
Post-Seminar Work
In the final module, students continue their leadership development through ongoing communication with peers, a campus mentor, and seminar facilitators, while providing leadership for their campus / community initiative. In addition, students will complete the following.
- Leadership Initiative – Students will carry out their campus/community leadership initiative developed through the seminar.
- Check ins – Students will have two check ins per term with their on-campus mentor to discuss progress and two check ins with peers to share experiences and maintain a peer network.
- Summative Assignments – At the conclusion of the seminar, students will submit a reflection paper (~600 words) on how the seminar impacted their leadership knowledge and practice, a final report on their leadership initiative, a follow-up leadership self-assessment, and a seminar evaluation.
Expenses
Through a generous grant from the Endeavor Foundation, the cost to attend the in-person seminar in Morocco will be covered, including visa application, airfare, lodging, meals, ground transportation, and excursions. Students will be responsible for incidentals during travel and while in Morocco.
Important Dates
March 28, 2025: Campus nominations due to Simon Gray – [email protected]
April 18, 2025: Notification of acceptance
May 12, 2025: Visa application submitted (if needed)
May 14, 2025: Orientation
May 28-July 9, 2025: Pre-Seminar Sessions
July 20, 2025: Students arrive in Ifrane
July 21, 2025: Seminar begins
July 25, 2025: Seminar ends
July 26, 2025: Students depart
Contacts
Simon Gray
Senior Program Director for the Global Liberal Arts Alliance
[email protected]
Jess Sonney
Director of Student Leadership & Civic Engagement at Oberlin College, [email protected]