The University of North Dakota has taken a decisive step to transform its institutional tagline, “Leaders in Action,” into a tangible, structured reality for its student body by formally establishing the new Department of Student Leadership Development. This strategic initiative creates a centralized hub dedicated to fostering and enhancing leadership capabilities among students, directly addressing the university’s core mission. According to Cassie Gerhardt, the senior associate vice president for student affairs, the creation of this department is a fitting and essential move for the institution, positioning it as the primary entity responsible for guiding conversations and spearheading initiatives related to leadership across the entire campus. Its overarching goal is to facilitate student growth by providing a structured array of programs and opportunities specifically designed to build the essential skills that will prepare students for the complexities of their future professional and personal endeavors, ensuring they graduate not just with a degree but with the confidence and competence to lead.
A Collaborative and Strategic Foundation
The foundation of the Department of Student Leadership Development is strategically built upon a significant partnership between the Division of Student Affairs and the Division of Academic Affairs, a collaboration that signals a powerful, campus-wide commitment to its success and longevity. This synergy ensures that the department’s operational philosophy is deeply integrated with UND LEADS, the university’s comprehensive strategic plan. Consequently, all departmental activities will meticulously reflect and promote the institution’s five core values: learning, equity, affinity, discovery, and service. Leading this new venture is Mike Wozniak, who has been appointed as the inaugural director after a successful tenure as the coordinator of programming and leadership. Wozniak has articulated a clear and collaborative vision, emphasizing that the department’s purpose is not to absorb or consolidate existing leadership programs from other campus units. Instead, it will function as a central connector and resource hub, helping to unify the university’s efforts and make them more accessible to all students.
A primary goal for Wozniak in the department’s formative stage is to engage with various departments and groups across the university to comprehensively map out all current leadership-building activities. This vital process will help identify potential gaps in programming and discover areas where the new department can provide supplementary support, ultimately helping to point students toward the resources that best fit their individual needs and aspirations. Wozniak believes this collaborative approach will effectively “reframe our vision for what this program can be,” allowing its direction to be shaped organically by the existing campus ecosystem rather than being imposed from the top down. This ensures that the new hub will enhance, not replace, the valuable work already being done across campus, creating a more cohesive and impactful leadership development landscape for every student at the university.
Cultivating Career-Ready Leaders
Art Malloy, the vice president for student affairs, further clarified that while the department is new in its formal structure and increased resource allocation, it is fundamentally an evolution and amplification of the leadership development work that UND has been engaged in for a long time. He also made a point to stress that the diverse programs and valuable opportunities offered through this new hub will be entirely voluntary. They are being made available to students who actively wish to pursue them and hone their skills, rather than being instituted as a mandatory requirement for graduation. Malloy’s vision for the department’s ultimate impact is both straightforward and profoundly ambitious: “When students leave, they are ready to lead as soon as they leave.” He elaborated that while every employer will train new graduates in their specific methods and protocols, the university’s essential role is to equip students with the universal leadership skills that make them teachable, adaptable, and thoroughly prepared to step into leadership roles from day one of their professional careers.
To achieve these ambitious goals, several well-established and successful programs have been thoughtfully integrated into the new department’s portfolio, providing a strong foundation for its future growth. These include the Poolman Leadership Academy, a program focused on building leadership strengths that is offered on campus in the spring and online during the summer; the 18:83 Speaker Series, a popular weekly event modeled after “TED Talks” that features insightful leadership lessons from prominent campus and community figures; and the annual UND Leadership Conference. In addition to these existing initiatives, the department is launching a new flagship program called the Presidential Leadership Fellows Program. This is a comprehensive, four-year cohort-based program designed to provide an intensive and immersive leadership development experience. Participants will engage in monthly skill-building meetings, receive connections to campus resources, benefit from mentorship by senior members of the program, present at the UND Leadership Conference, attend significant campus events, and complete service hour requirements. A key feature of this prestigious program is the provision of a $4,000 annual scholarship to each student fellow.
Building a Lasting Legacy of Leadership
Although the Department of Student Leadership Development was still in its nascent stages and had not yet been assigned a permanent physical location on campus, potential spaces were actively being explored. David Dodds, UND’s director of communications, confirmed that while the department was new, a solid and strategic plan was put in place for its growth and future impact. He assured the university community that a concerted effort was underway to build an initiative that would be fantastic for students. The establishment of this department marked a significant moment for the university, as it filled a long-standing void and signaled a renewed, intentional focus on preparing graduates who were not only knowledgeable in their fields but were also equipped to become the next generation of leaders in action. The deliberate steps taken to create this centralized hub demonstrated a firm commitment to transforming a well-known tagline into a lived experience for every student who chose to engage with its offerings.
