By David Dodson
ddodson@terry.uga.edu
A $4 million gift from the Bradley-Turner Foundation of Columbus will fund an endowed faculty chair and two new student programs in the Institute for Leadership Advancement at UGA’s Terry College of Business.
The gift is the second largest ever made to the Terry College--second only to the endowment given by C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry in 1990. The Bradley-Turner gift brings total pledges and contributions for the leadership institute to more than $6 million.
Half the gift will endow the Synovus Chair in Servant Leadership, a new faculty position to be held by a scholar of national prominence in leadership research. The chair is named for Synovus Financial Corp., the Columbus-based financial services company, in honor of its servant-leadership culture and its recognition by Fortune magazine as one of “the 100 best companies to work for.”
The remaining $2 million will support two undergraduate programs in leadership: the Leadership Scholars Program and the UnderGraduate Advancement (UGA) in Leadership Program. The scholars program will be an intensive leadership assessment and development program for up to 50 students selected from the Terry College. The other student program will provide all UGA undergraduates with an opportunity to learn academically based leadership concepts and practices through online teaching tools, a speaker series and a recommended reading list; the program will culminate in an academic certificate program in personal leadership.
“This gift from the Bradley-Turner Foundation will make it possible for our undergraduate students to fulfill their leadership potential,” says Terry College Dean George Benson. “Our leadership programs and the work of our faculty in the Institute for Leadership Advancement will be models for leadership education in U.S. business schools. And in the best tradition of servant leadership, the long-term benefits to the business community and to the citizens of the state of Georgia will be many, many times greater than the generous investment made by the Bradley-Turner Foundation.”
The Institute for Leadership Advancement, approved last May by the board of regents, is directed by management professor Christine Riordan, who says the first installment of the $2 million commitment to student programs will enable the institute to select its first class of leadership scholars this spring. Rising juniors in the Terry College who are accepted into the program will begin next fall and stay with the program until graduation.
“The Leadership Scholars Program will provide highly individualized leadership development for our students. We will assess their existing skills and then work with each student on a leadership-development action plan,” Riordan says. “Our purpose is to develop the skills we think are necessary for effective leadership. This is a phenomenal opportunity for students to combine the functional knowledge of their majors with critical leadership skills.”
The Bradley-Turner gift also supports the UGA (“UnderGraduate Advancement”) Leadership Program, administered by the ILA and offered to all UGA undergraduates. The program is open to any student interested in leadership development and will offer the following options beginning this fall: a recommended leadership curriculum and reading list; self-directed Web-based assessment tools and non-credit courses; a leadership speaker series; and participation in Volunteer Dawg service activities. In 2002, the ILA plans to offer an undergraduate certificate program in leadership, consisting of two required courses and three electives.
The ILA now has pledges totaling more than $6 million toward its endowment. The gifts received so far have been committed to the two undergraduate programs, which are among five separate programs the ILA plans to implement over the next few years. |
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