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McLauchlan Leadership Series

The McLauchlan Leadership Series is a professional development program that supports graduate-level leadership education through experiential learning. The Series started in 2015 with a generous gift from Russ and Cara McLauchlan. To date, 212 Jenkins MBA students from across all platforms have received the distinct honor of being named a 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 McLauchlan Leadership Series is non-credit-bearing; students will earn a leadership certificate issued by the Jenkins Graduate School of Management and signed by the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Research. Fellows are also formally recognized at the Poole College of Management spring commencement ceremony.

The Series consists of a kickoff, three Friday evening (4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.) sessions, where fellows engage in the outlined activities, followed by a full Saturday (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 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 which 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. 

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 world.

Jen Todd ’23

McLauchlan Fellow