In a hermeneutic phenomenological study on the lived experiences of openly gay undergraduate men in elected student government (see Goodman, 2021, 2022), one major theme emerged: the men were elected and selected. This study contained multiple conversations with eight openly gay undergraduate men who were elected to their institution's student…

Leadership development provides students with the opportunity to acquire the interpersonal competence and networking skills they will need to be successful both in college and beyond. Despite having arrived at college less prepared, some economically challenged undergraduates perform extremely well and achieve academic excellence. However, many…

A primary goal of assessment is to deliver truthful and clear information that can be used to inform and improve outcomes. Although there are multiple ways to achieve this goal, common approaches can be broken down into two major categories: (1) direct assessment; and (2) indirect assessment. Indirect assessment typically relies on general…

In this article, the authors share the skills required to plan and execute a successful days-long backpacking trip, which they have discovered are also useful in advising student leaders. The authors' lessons were originally learned while backpacking with several friends. The six of them had planned and trained for months to do a six-day, 50-mile…

Even as educators understand how their millennial students learn in such different ways than previous generations (watching how-to videos downloaded from YouTube or engaging in experiential learning adventures), colleges still rely heavily on in-the-classroom learning. The author can't offer an alternative to this classroom format, but she…

Peter G. Northouse's "Leadership: Theory and Practice" defines leadership as an individual's influence on a group in order to reach a goal. This definition is good in that it is difficult to disagree with, but it is vague in that the creation of influence can happen in countless ways, some of which, such as the use of coercion, force, or unethical…

A while ago, the author and his wife, Shari, were charged with the daunting yet intriguing task of planning and implementing a multiweek short-term study abroad course in Wales. One of their first tasks was to select a student as assistant leader for the trip. This student would be responsible for a great deal of work throughout the semester…

What exactly is perfect? Students describe perfection as a combination of characteristics valued by their peer culture: intelligence, thin and fit physical appearance, social poise. As students chug through their daily lives--morning classes, organization meetings, club sports practice or the gym, dinner, another class, more meetings, library,…

The University of Tampa's Leadership and Sailing program introduces students to leadership and sailing simultaneously by situating their learning about leadership in the context of sailing. By combining outdoor adventure and leadership training, the program is designed to help students learn the basic components of a sailboat and operate the boat…

While many people may not realize that the words they speak may offend, carelessly used words can indeed lead to hurt, discrimination, and, on occasion, violence. Hate crimes occur all too frequently, even on college campuses--places which should be designed to be open and accepting. The role of educators and student leaders is to raise…