There’s nothing like a global crisis to demonstrate how much our world needs leaders, and not just any leaders. We need leaders who are compassionate, emotionally intelligent, and committed to making the world better for everyone, including the most vulnerable among us. The Leadership Development Fellowship is an opportunity to develop such leadership competencies and perspectives while in graduate school at Michigan State.
Leadership Institute in 2019
The Leadership Development Fellowship is a year-long, cohort-based program housed in the Graduate School Office of Well-Being. The Fellowship was created to build a stronger and healthier graduate student community at MSU by providing space for graduate student leaders to engage in change-oriented projects of their own design. Fellows aim to identify and solve problems within their colleges and take initiative on projects that increase graduate student well-being, interconnectedness, and ultimately, success. This is a funded experience that provides each Fellow with a peer network, mentorship, and professional development opportunities that span the academic year.
Many Fellows have designed and implemented programs for their peers, such as a recent workshop series that equipped and supported graduate students in becoming academic entrepreneurs, giving them tools to turn their expertise into a source of revenue. Some Fellows have created resources that other graduate students can use, such as a Peer Mentoring Toolkit that led to college-level changes to mentoring approaches and assessment. Other Fellows have worked on policy and process projects. Two such Fellows began reviewing their College’s by-laws, and learned that there were two designated committees that did not exist, leading to the loss of graduate student voices. Thanks to their advocacy, their college now has a Student Advisory Committee and a Curriculum Committee. The possibilities to enact meaningful change for fellow graduate and professional students are endless.
The Leadership Development Fellowship is one way that the Graduate School aims to realize our vision of advancing humanity and furthering knowledge to shape the future.
Megumi Moore, Director
Graduate School Office of Well-Being
Since its beginning in 2015, the Fellowship has grown from one Fellow in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources to 18 Fellows across 9 colleges. We are proud of the diversity of our cohorts and believe that the academic, professional, and personal experiences of our Fellows are incredibly enriched by belonging to this community of scholars. They gain real leadership experience in an environment that prioritizes their own well-being, resilience, and character. The Leadership Development Fellowship is one way that the Graduate School aims to realize our vision of advancing humanity and furthering knowledge to shape the future; a future that these leaders will build with tools they gained and sharpened in graduate school.
