Iowa State is planning a new leadership development program — the Shared Leadership of Institutional Change initiative.

The new program is being funded in part by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, which is giving ISU a $45,000 grant.

The SLIC is headed by James Melsa, dean of the College of Engineering, and Corly Petersen Brooke, professor of human development and family studies and director of ISU’s Center for Teaching Excellence.

“The idea is to have a group of faculty and non-faculty to do some learning to determine ways to help the university be a better place for faculty and students … to address some of the change factors in the world,” Melsa said.

Brooke added that it’s “a unique opportunity for us to gather together a diverse group of people … to explore new ways of thinking and developing a collaborative model for shared leadership.”

The task force is a mix of faculty and business people, Melsa said.

He said it includes two faculty members from each of the ISU colleges, and people from local businesses, government agencies and community groups.

The members from these diverse groups discuss issues separately in learning teams before coming together to share their discoveries.

“We have an opportunity to spend time learning about new initiatives in sublearning teams so that we can create a new vision for leadership,” Brooke said.

Melsa and Brooke are enthusiastic about the interaction between the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the SLIC.

“[It is exciting] that we really are learning from each other and developing better leadership skills for the future,” he said. “[The people at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation] don’t have a formula — they have a vision.”

“[The W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s] agenda allows us creative thinking … there isn’t a direct agenda,” Brooke said.

“We have the opportunity to develop communication and think about how we want to adapt to the rapid changes,” Brooke said.

Melsa said the SLIC realizes that students are an important part of this process.

“We need to work harder to learn how to more accurately bring students into the program,” Melsa said. “Students are a significant part of this project.”

Melsa said the initiative will help the university, as well as the students.

“It’s going to make us a leading institution instead of one that’s trying to catch up,” he said.

W.K. Kellogg, initially well-known in the cereal industry, established the foundation in 1930, according to a Web site.

“The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is ‘to help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources, and improve their quality of life and that of future generations,'” according to the Web site.