Linfield News sat down with political science Professor Pat Cottrell, who spent the past several years working with fellow faculty and staff to develop the LEAD Honors Program. The first 16 LEAD Scholars will arrive on campus in the fall of 2025. By the time they graduate, these future scientists, nurses, public servants and business leaders will be fully equipped to change the world that awaits them.
Read more: Linfield to debut LEAD Honors Program in fall 2025What inspired you to create a leadership-focused honors program?
My training originally was as a diplomat, and the Department of State names 13 “dimensions,” or qualities for those who serve as a Foreign Service Officer. Together, these “dimensions” cultivate people who are very dynamic, who are intellectually and socially agile, and who are able to be resourceful and adapt to very changing environments — which also turn out to be qualities that employers from all different fields value. That’s what the LEAD Honors Program at Linfield University will do for the students selected as LEAD Scholars.
Our cohort of 16 will represent very different backgrounds — we want rural students, urban students, liberal students and conservative students. They will work through ideas and challenges together, and can learn so much more from each other than any professor could impart.
What does the LEAD Honors Program consist of?
Working in a cohort model, LEAD Scholars can major — or double major! — in any subject; we hope to have future scientists, public servants, lawyers, artists, mathematicians, nurses and business leaders working side by side. It lasts all four years of their time at Linfield, though transfer students are eligible as well.
Each scholar will be mentored by two faculty advisors, and will receive a $5,000 scholarship. The close-knit group of 16 will begin their intellectual project before classes even begin, with a special pre-orientation session.
The first two years focus on professional and personal development; scholars will discuss ideas and concepts over shared meals and during off-campus trips and experiential learning. During their junior and senior years, students get real-world experience in their leadership practicums — collaborative research, internships, studying abroad and so on. Throughout their time as LEAD Scholars, they will be working as archivists of their projects, learning and experiences. During their senior year, each student will create a personal portfolio. These portfolios will be tailored to each student’s post-graduate plans, whether that be entering the workforce as a coveted employee or graduate school.
What does leadership mean in this context?
Well, it offers a more expansive way of thinking about what it means to lead. Over the past decade, a lot of students shared a desire to make a positive difference in the world , but felt a sense of powerlessness. Others didn’t define themselves as leaders — they’re introverts, and they don’t always feel comfortable being the most vocal in the room. And yet, as the 13 dimensions suggest, there are lots of ways to make an impact.
At-a-glance:
LEAD Honors Program
- Designed to cultivate civic-minded leaders capable of working across differences while developing adaptability, relational intelligence, discernment and path-breaking thinking skills employers covet
- 16 students will be selected for the cohort to create a close-knit yet diverse intellectual community
- Each LEAD Scholar receives a renewable $5,000 scholarship and two faculty advisors for personalized mentoring
- They can major in any subject and transfer students are eligible
- Throughout their years, they will build a capstone portfolio of their projects and work
We can’t afford to have the next generation of students withdraw — they need to be ready to take on this world.”
— Patrick Cottrell, professor of political science and founder of the LEAD Honors Program
But we need to fundamentally change the way we think about leadership. People have a tendency to think of leaders as, say, a CEO who is always asserting and imposing their will. But that’s not leadership, that’s bludgeoning people into submission. Just because you’re in a leadership position doesn’t mean you’re a leader.
To be a leader means being able to speak, to work in teams, to feel empathy. Leaders are agile, leaders are industrious, leaders assume the initiative, and then are able to adapt to different environments — all the things employers want. Today’s students will have jobs that don’t yet exist, but this program gives them the tools to be leaders, and embody qualities that will always be in high demand.
13 Dimensions for Foreign Service Officers:
- Composure
- Cultural adaptability
- Experience and motivation
- Information integration and analysis
- Initiative and leadership
- Judgment
- Objectivity and integrity
- Oral communication
- Planning and organizing
- Quantitative analysis
- Resourcefulness
- Working with others
- Written communication
Source: U.S. Department of State
How will LEAD Scholars meet the challenges of the moment, and of the future?
What young people see is a world defined by complexity. Our world is growing more and more intricate by the day, and we, as human beings, are struggling to keep pace, in terms of adapting to potential existential threats like climate change, for example, or devising the political will to mobilize the expertise to address complex issues like poverty. But right now, many young people feel like they are powerless. There is social division, there is political polarization. There is a deep loneliness and lack of connection to one another and to a larger community.
We are closed off from one another when we should be cultivating openness, and the ability to disagree while still valuing the views and experiences of people who differ. The problem isn’t really social division — it’s that people won’t talk to or have access to people who are different from them, and often won’t engage in conversation with people that disagree with them.
We can’t afford to have the next generation of students withdraw — they need to be ready to take on this world.
