Written by: Lia Colon
Last semester, Southern Adventist University created a new minor in leadership to help students develop skills in communication, problem-solving, decision-making and conflict resolution.
This minor, offered by the School of Journalism and Communication, includes classes in business and religion, but “the core classes [are] coming from communication, which is appropriate,” said Rachel Williams-Smith, dean of the School of Journalism and Communication (SJC). “A key part of being a leader is being a good communicator; you can’t avoid that.”
“Whether you’re planning to go into business, nursing [or] sports medicine,” she added, “there’s always somebody who needs to take charge, who needs to lead, and there are always those who will do more following than leading.”
Students pursuing the leadership minor take classes such as Professional Communication and Leadership, Leadership in Organizations and Introduction to Christian Leadership. They also take a leadership seminar associated with Southern’s outdoor leadership program, according to Williams-Smith. Although the seminar was originally designed for outdoor leadership majors, they are now adapting it for students taking the new leadership minor.
“[What] you’re doing is creating your final paper/project and preparing it for your research writing presentation. And you [will] choose your research topic and debate issues related to leadership,” Williams-Smith explained.
She said only two students are currently pursuing the minor. The SJC thought it would be a good idea to not promote the minor the first year, but rather, to make it public and observe the results.
“We’ll probably give a little more press to it and let people know it is there this year,” Williams-Smith said. “I think more students would definitely be interested if they were aware.”
