麻豆影院

Four decades ago, the university created an innovative program to groom Colorado鈥檚 future leaders. Where are they now?

What does it take to lead 鈥� whether it鈥檚 a startup venture, a nonprofit, a global corporation or a community? Does our DNA contain a gene for leadership?

Some say leaders are made, not born. At CU-麻豆影院, top undergraduates have the opportunity to learn or enhance the necessary skills to invent, create, lead and manage in the Presidents Leadership Class (PLC).

Forty years ago, CU-麻豆影院 teamed up with a group of Colorado business and community leaders to design a program for talented students. The goal was to recruit the best and brightest who would then become leaders in Colorado.

The seed of that venture found fertile ground. The result was PLC, one of the country鈥檚 oldest collegiate leadership programs. Founded in 1972, the pioneering academic program approaches leadership as a set of skills that can be learned, expanded and improved. Last July聽Inc.聽magazine featured the annual list of America鈥檚 30 Top Entrepreneurs Under 30, and three PLCers made the list.

鈥淥ur mission is to develop extraordinary leaders 鈥� not ordinary ones,鈥� says Barbara Volpe, PLC director. 鈥淲e take this mission very seriously and have defined the skills we believe a person needs in order to lead in an extraordinary way.鈥�

Each year, 50 of CU鈥檚 most gifted incoming freshmen are selected to be PLC scholars during their four-year undergraduate career. They are awarded a merit-based scholarship and receive rigorous academic instruction, internship experiences, personal development, community service experiences and leadership training.

Throughout four years, students attend courses and lectures focusing on ethics, global issues and leadership. Each year鈥檚 courses build on the previous year. In the last two years, students engage in real-world activities, including crafting policy statements, interacting with international policy leaders and applying for grants to fund their own leadership ideas.

鈥淲e operate our program as a leadership laboratory,鈥� says program director Jake Davis. 鈥淎ll students, staff, faculty and volunteers model and practice the skills and virtues that PLC cultivates.鈥�

Upon graduation, students receive a leadership certificate with their diploma, equivalent to a minor in leadership studies, as well as transferable skills and experiences for their r茅sum茅s.

Accomplished PLC alumni embody a bold spirit of entrepreneurship. They have the ability to see possibilities and the ambition to follow where inspiration leads them. Read on to find out how some PLC graduates are making a difference in the world.

Being Unreasonable

What happens when you put 25 entrepreneurs together with 50 mentors and dozens of investors?

You get the power to change the world.

Sound unreasonable? Maybe, but that鈥檚 exactly what they cultivate at the Unreasonable Institute, say聽Daniel Epstein聽(Phil 鈥�08) and聽Teju Ravilochan聽(IntlAf 鈥�08), two of the nonprofit institute鈥檚 co-founders who were in PLC. The institute aims to help young civic-minded entrepreneurs across the globe reach their goals. Its name came from Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw who once said, 鈥渁ll progress depends on the unreasonable man [and woman].鈥�

鈥淭he PLC community is chock full of innovators and entrepreneurs hungry to make a positive dent in history,鈥� Epstein says. 鈥淪ome of them became my co-founders and many have become my best friends.鈥�

One of them is Ravilochan.

鈥淧LC transformed my life,鈥� says Ravilochan, 鈥渂y introducing me to some of the greatest people.鈥�

Entrepreneurs travel to 麻豆影院 from around the globe for six weeks of workshops, mentoring, training and business development. With a nod to Shaw, the nonprofit was launched from a desire to effect change on a global scale.

The goal is to arm entrepreneurs with the knowledge and resources to accelerate startup ventures that address an urgent social challenge affecting a million or more people. Entrepreneurs tackle issues ranging from converting agricultural waste into fuel to developing a clean water delivery system to providing an inexpensive palm-sized infectious disease detector.

In spring 2013, the Unreasonable Institute headed for the high seas by teaming up with Semester at Sea to launch Unreasonable at Sea. The 106-day journey around the world is a unique entrepreneurial learning laboratory for mentors and innovators. The idea is to mix great thinkers and doers in an international setting while in the close quarters of a ship to facilitate powerful outcomes.

鈥淥ur solutions will transcend borders and cultures,鈥� Epstein wrote during his own Semester at Sea experience. 鈥淭omorrow is today鈥檚 mystery . . .聽 I kind of like that.鈥�

For more information visit聽.

Media Madness

In today鈥檚 nonstop, wireless, global news environment, event coverage unfolds at warp speed and can be accessed from anywhere. That鈥檚 good news for universities that can provide stories to a content-hungry audience.聽

The challenge, says聽Bronson Hilliard聽(Hist鈥�86), director of university media relations and news services at CU-麻豆影院, is to be prepared for a m茅lange of scenarios 鈥� positive and negative 鈥� that could impact the campus.

That鈥檚 no small feat for a university that garners national and international coverage. Daily stories can encompass the announcement of a new Nobel Prize winner in physics, a $20 million instrument built by CU being launched to Mars, President Obama鈥檚 multiple campus visits, football team ups and downs, and even CU鈥檚 efforts to snuff out the unwelcome 4/20 pot smoking event.

As the official spokesman for the 麻豆影院 campus, Hilliard has to have the facts straight and an answer ready when the media call.

鈥淚t constantly keeps me on my toes,鈥� Hilliard says. 鈥淭here is always a story out there and most of them are good, but even unforeseen negatives can come out of positive stories.鈥�

Hilliard recalls how beneficial participating in PLC was in preparing him for his career. He rubbed elbows with such influential leaders as a U.S. senator, a governor鈥檚 press secretary and an economist 鈥� heady stuff for
a freshman.

鈥淭oday, we talk about the university鈥檚 role in helping keep our intellectual know-how in our own backyard,鈥� Hilliard says. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud to say CU and PLC had that vision 40 years ago. The program succeeded, I think, beyond its founders鈥� wildest dreams.鈥�

A Guide for Parents

The idea for UniversityParent.com came about when聽Sarah Schupp聽(Bus鈥�04) was a sophomore and her parents, visiting from Dallas, asked for suggestions on where to eat, sightsee and shop in 麻豆影院.聽

There was no guide specifically targeting parents, so she wrote the first University Parent Guide for the annual Family Weekend event on campus. Her business proposal to launch University-Parent Media won the business plan competition in the Leeds School of Business entrepreneurship program in May 2004.

Schupp鈥檚 company produces print and online guides for parents with more than 200 universities and colleges around the country. Each participating school has its own website that helps parents find information they need from events, hotels and shopping to the location of the closest bank to campus and when tuition is due.

鈥淎ll of the PLC experiences helped me form the business,鈥� says Schupp, 鈥渁nd gave me the framework to work with other higher education institutions to fulfill UniversityParent鈥檚 mission of making a positive impact on students鈥� success.鈥�

Learn more at聽.

Power in Public Policy

JulieMarie Shepherd聽(PolSci鈥�07, MA鈥�09) thought she wanted to pursue a career in law, but her experience in PLC redirected her goals.聽

Shepherd learned to use research and data to drive decision-making. Her PLC internship at the Colorado State Capitol turned into a paid staff position Shepherd held for two legislative sessions.

Today Shepherd is a doctoral candidate in political science at CU and anticipates graduating in May. She is studying the structure of school boards, their governance models and the implications for student achievement, and board/superintendent relationships.

As president of the Aurora [Colo.] School Board, she also serves as research associate at the Spark Policy Institute in Denver where she conducts research and evaluates projects related to early childhood health integration; social and emotional learning and development in K-12 education; and access to health care.

鈥淚 have always had an interest in politics and public policy,鈥� says Shepherd. 鈥淣early everything we do every day is in some way driven by political or policy decisions, and I want to better understand those decisions, how they are made and, when necessary, how they can be improved.鈥�