As scholars need context, so do leaders. One objective of Leadership Rice is to introduce students to diverse examples of leadership in a wide variety of contexts. We do this by making tangible the obvious fact that there are many ways to create and manage change. We aim to stimulate our students to begin thinking about how they might channel their own interests and abilities. Leadership Rice wants students to have some familiarity with many sectors of the community.
Leaders are generalists.
The ability to think about needs beyond one's own area and about others' perspectives is an attribute of leaders. That doesn't mean leaders don't begin their journey by becoming expert in a specific area. If the academic departments at Rice were not so strong and not so demanding of students, our program wouldn't make sense. It is a complement to strong academics.