Spring Semester 2008

January 7

Classes begin

NEW Organizational Leadership Program Delivers Skills Needed in Today’s Workplace

by Dr. Tracy Barton

The Bachelor of Science program in Organizational Leadership has been redesigned to better serve the needs of working professionals in the community, and their employers.

Background

Adult education is the fastest growing segment in American higher education. There are currently 6 million adult students in our nation’s colleges and universities and they represent the new majority among undergraduates. These adult learners are seeking to develop their careers and acquire new skills and knowledge to stay competitive in a global society. The U.S. economy is information-driven and, as many area residents can confirm, a college degree has become an increasingly important credential in today’s marketplace.

The PACE program was launched in 2003 to address the needs of working professionals in the greater Decatur area by providing them the opportunity to complete their Bachelor’s degrees in an evening, accelerated format. Organizational Leadership (OL) was the only major offered at the time and remains the largest program in the PACE division and at Millikin University. It is the perfect broad-based liberal arts degree program to facilitate the continued success of working professionals. Because of the high demand, the OL program itself needs to remain competitive in a consumer driven marketplace. In an effort to distinguish Millikin’s OL program from other area programs, and in order to deliver programming that is innovative, contemporary, relevant, and distinctive, the OL program has been updated.

New Curriculum, New Focus

Organizational Leadership is unlike any other discipline; it is a growing and evolving field that is rapidly gaining momentum. The PACE program in OL enables students to earn a life-enhancing degree while learning to become stronger professionals and more effective organizational members. The new curriculum is based on humanistic philosophies that emphasize developing students personally and professionally and assisting them as they strive to reach their full potential whether they seek to change positions, assume a leadership role, or enjoy greater self-confidence in their present position.

New courses bring the program up-to-date and emphasize such topics as organizational culture, leading change (transformational leadership), leadership in a multicultural society (workplace diversity), project management, organizational creativity and innovation, interpersonal relations, and ethics.

Skills for a Competitive Marketplace

In a fast-paced global marketplace, organizational members must be highly skilled to stay competitive. OL students will develop and refine advanced leadership and communication skills, as well as skills in negotiation, team building, ethical reasoning, critical thinking and creative problem solving. These are highly sought after skills. In addition, a keen understanding of organizational dynamics and leadership theory is critical to one’s success in the workplace.

The revisions to the OL major make it a very competitive, dynamic new program that will better serve students and their employers in the community.

Safe Zones: A Universal Understanding

by Julie Jones

Take a moment and think about some of the day’s most recent headlines. Many would agree that wild fires, war, viruses, and terrorism come to the forefront. Via the media, we are constantly reminded that our comfort, safety, and personal borders or zones are threatened. From 9/11 to Immigration, we have and continue to be challenged. However, in comparison to other countries, we are a safe and secure country. Yet, at the end of each day, how many of our personal safety zones are threatened?

Many of us take for granted our safety because we have not had to face losing one item or person, let alone many if not all we hold dear. Yet, each day, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) community face losing family members, church/religious support, employment, close friends, and in some cases their own lives because they are deemed freaks, sinners, and/or less than human.

Safe Zones were first established at Ball State University in the early 1990s to bring awareness and share knowledge in order to provide safe and welcoming environments to LGBTQ individuals on campuses. Within these zones, LGBTQ community members were and continue to be welcomed with opened doors. Community members are not judged, looked down upon or criticized. Rather, all members are embraced with opened arms as would any other student, staff person or faculty member.

Millikin University is proud to be a member of the Safe Zone tradition. In addition to American, DePaul, Duke, Presbyterian, Saint Louis, and the University of Illinois-Champaign-Urbana Universities, Millikin supports all students, staff, faculty, and administrators regardless of their diversified status.

Coretta Scott King said it best when she stated “the greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members, a heart of grace and a soul generated by love.” Simply, she argued,” . . . all Americans who believe in freedom, tolerance and human rights have a responsibility to oppose bigotry and prejudice based on sexual orientation.” Thus as it is in any language and/or culture, universal understanding is the key. And it is with this universal understanding that we at Millikin University proudly state, “we are a Safe Zone for all who pass through our doors.”