LDR Course Descriptions
Fall 2009 Courses
LDR 201 Principles of Leadership (3 CR)
Summary: This course serves as an introduction to leadership theory and practice. The course will examine various aspects of the literature on leadership; provide practice for developing leadership skills; and offer personal experiences for students self-reflection in leadership. The course features relevant readings, lectures, class discussions, guest speakers, and both individual and team projects.
Sample Syllabus
LDR 301 Problems in Leadership (3 CR)
Requirements: Students are required to have successfully completed LDR 201.
Summary: Building on course work in LDR 201, students participate in case studies, historical and imagined, in which leadership either succeeds or fails, and examine additional literature in the field with a focus on resolving common leadership problems. Through the lens of diversity and inclusiveness, competitive advantage is included in the course material and discussion. The course recognizes and celebrates the fact that important, lasting contributions by leaders are made in many varied contexts, occur throughout the life, and through both formal and informal leadership roles. The role of followers in effective leadership is considered.
Sample Syllabus
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Sample Class Agenda
LDR 401 Leadership in Action (3 CR)
Requirements: Students are required to have successfully completed LDR 201 and LDR 301 and be in their junior or senior year.
Summary: Leadership 401, Leadership in Action, is the capstone course for the Leadership minor. Building on the work in 201 and 301, this course serves to synthesize leadership research and leadership practice. Students will build a professional portfolio, will research leadership within their major field, and will be exposed to leadership in an international context.
Sample Syllabus
LDR 493 Special topics: Leadership in Sports (3 CR)
Requirements: Students are required to have completed successfully LDR 201 or 301, or equivalent.
Summary: This course is intended to examine the psychological principles of leadership in the context of sports. Historical and contemporary examples of leadership in sports will be explored through the lens of psychological theory. The course will begin with the basic question of what is leadership throughout the different levels of sport, posit over issues related to followership and organizational culture in sports, investigate the relevance of motivational theory, discussion leaders’ ability to build relationships, and finally discuss the psychological challenges of being a leader in sports.
Sample Syllabus
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Sample Class Readings
LDR 495 Independent Study (3 CR)
This course requires prior approval by the Leadership Studies Program director.
“Leadership is an improvisational art. You my have an overarching vision, clear, orienting values, and even a strategic plan, but what you actually do from moment to moment cannot be scripted. To be effective, you must respond to what is happening.”
-Harvard Business School professors Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linksy, 2002, p. 73
