The McLauchlan Leadership Series, launched in 2015 thanks to a generous gift from Russ and Cara McLauchlan, is a non-credit, signature leadership development program for select Jenkins Graduate Programs students. To date, over 200 graduate students have become McLauchlan Fellows.
Program update: The 2024-25 academic year will be the final year of the McLauchlan Leadership Series in its current format. We will provide updates soon on the program’s evolution for 2025-26 and beyond. Stay tuned!
About the Program
Discover a transformative journey in leadership development with the McLauchlan Leadership Series and master the fundamentals of personal, team and organizational leadership though a dynamic series of experiential learning activities and networking events.
McLauchlan Fellows are also formally recognized at the graduation ceremony.
100% Participants Reported Being Better Leaders
Based on the 2015-2020 fellows survey about the impact of the McLauchlan Leadership Series.
Network with and learn from corporate and community leaders through in-class discussions, panels, social networking sessions and more.
Executive Coaching
Participate in three one-on-one sessions with a personal executive coach, who helps students create a leadership development plan.
Personal Leadership Challenge
In Session I, fellows are issued a “Personal Leadership Challenge” and provided $300 each to pursue that challenge during the course of the series.
“This group brought the energy, dedication, and support needed to drive each of us to learn more about ourselves, and about how to lead others in today’s VUCA [volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous] world.”
Jen Todd ’23
McLauchlan Fellow
Curriculum
McLauchlan Leadership Fellows master the fundamentals of personal, team, and organizational leadership through:
Lectures
Group discussions
Guided assessment
Team projects
Industry guest speakers
Opportunities that allow fellows to practice their newly learned leadership and coaching techniques.
With access to corporate executives and community leaders throughout the Series, fellows build their professional network and experience unique coaching and leadership development to further career growth.
The Series consists of a kickoff, three Friday evening (4-9 p.m.) sessions, where fellows engage in the outlined activities, followed by a full Saturday (8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.) of programming and a closing event.
Kickoff Event
Meet the McLauchlans, the donors who made this program possible, and mingle with fellow students who will be completing the leadership series.
Session I: Personal Leadership
Session I focuses on personal assessment activities, the development of an individual leadership model, and team building activities to engage the cohort of fellows as an interdependent group.
During this session, fellows identify a “Personal Leadership Challenge” and receive $300 each to complete that challenge during the Series
Session II: Team Leadership
Session II engages fellows in various team-building activities and in-class training to strengthen their leadership skills, including those that are essential to maintaining relationships with peers.
Session III: Organizational Leadership
Session III provides fellows with an opportunity to interact with executive leaders in a C-suite environment. Fellows learn about organizational leadership through case discussions and share highlights from their experience in a final presentation.
Closing Event
Celebrate your accomplishments and share the story of your leadership journey with your peers, program faculty and staff, and the McLauchlans.
Post-program Mentorship
As part of the program, each Fellow is responsible for providing at least 10 hours of mentorship to others post-program.
