The Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics has coordinated the leadership education program at Iowa State for nearly 20 years now, but 2014 and 2015 have brought major changes and improvements to the program.

After 10 months of review, the program had its proposal for a minor approved by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee and Representative Assembly in November of last year. It made its way through the proper approval channels until it got to the Office of the President and became official.

The idea for the minor in leadership studies came from requests by students who wanted to gain leadership knowledge and experience, but didn’t have room for a 21-credit-hour certificate. With the addition of the minor, the program also received approval for a name change.

The leadership education program through the Catt Center used to be referred to as the “Certificate in Community Leadership and Public Service,” but with the new year comes a new start. The program will now be called the “Leadership Studies Program,” with both the minor and the certificate available.

“I am proud of this new name that more directly conveys the academic field we are studying together. Next we’ll work to move from ‘CLPS’ course designators to  ‘LDST’ — but these won’t go into effect before Fall 2016,” wrote Dr. Clint Stephens, lecturer for the leadership studies program, in an email to students currently enrolled in the program.

With these new changes, the program has continued to grow in enrollment as well as faculty.

“In the past year, Spring 2014 through Fall 2014, 105 students enrolled in the certificate or the minor,”  Stephens said. “During that period, 16 students graduated with the certificate.”

The program is also in the process of hiring two new faculty positions, hiring a new doctoral student, interviewing students for its Vermeer Scholars Program, and has selected 20 students for the inaugural Global Study Abroad trip to Sweden.

The program is currently offering three one-credit courses in leadership for the second half of the spring semester for students looking to see what the program is like. The courses are, “CLPS 122: Leading with Purpose,” “ENGR 150: Foundations of Leadership in Engineering,” and “ENGR 250: Leadership in Engineering Teams.”

Anyone interested in learning about the Leadership Studies Program can contact Clint Stephens at the Carrie Chapman Catt Center or stop in at 309 Catt Hall.