Leadership

We prepare students to serve their communities by developing their competency, character, and courage to be effective leaders.

In 2011 we established the Oskin Leadership Institute to add value to our legacy in civic engagement, experiential learning, and service for all our students. Our leadership philosophy is characterized by:

Competency

In the undergraduate program or programs you choose to explore, our faculty, experts in their fields, will help you to develop a thorough knowledge and mastery of your subject.

Our Freshman Seminars are one-credit courses emphasizing academic support, but they also provide the foundation for the emotional and organizational competencies you’ll need to experience new things and embrace new challenges. Through our service learning courses, you’ll learn how to apply what you learn inside the classroom to solving the problems going on outside in the local community region and beyond.

Character

Our Project Leadership Education And Development (LEAD) activities will get you in touch with your “inner leader,” and you’ll take the lead on a civic engagement project. Our Enhancing Leadership Via Activities, Training, and Engagement (ELEVATE) program is a series of workshops focused on developing your leadership potential. You can then take what you learn and build a “leadership concentration” into your Widener undergraduate degree.

As a graduate student, you can earn a certificate in leadership from our School of Business.  

Courage

Widener hosts the region’s largest U.S. Army ROTC program, ranking in the top third of programs nationwide. During your first two years, you can participate in ROTC by taking military science electives; there’s no obligation to join the Army. Then, by your sophomore year, you can step up to the ROTC’s Leaders Training Course. 

All undergraduates can test their courage by applying to be President for a Day. And the president will be “you for a day,” going to your classes and following your daily routine. You’ll follow the president’s schedule, meeting with campus administrators and attending the events of the day. You’ll also get a chance to propose a university-wide initiative of concern to you.

By the time you graduate, you’ll know that your entire Widener University education prepared you to take the lead.