Featured Member Publications

ILA members publish on the topic of leadership from a variety of perspectives. We are pleased to feature a selection of these publications on our Web site.  On occasion we may feature a publication written by someone who is not currently a member if we feel it is of particular interest to our members. Follow the links below to learn more about each work and download complete chapters. If you have a recent publication and would like to be featured on these pages, please contact the ILA at ila@ila-net.org.

Featured Publication:

Leadership and the Liberal Arts:
Achieving the Promise of a Liberal Education
J. Thomas Wren, Ronald E. Riggio and Michael A. Genovese

ILA Members, login to read an interview with authors Thomas Wren, Ronald E. Riggio, and Michael A. Genovese in the May 2010 Member Connector

A collection of essays by presidents of prominent liberal arts colleges and leading intellectuals who reflect on the meaning of educating individuals for leadership and how it can be accomplished in ways consistent with the missions of liberal arts institutions. Edited by faculty from the Jepson School for Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond, the Jepson Studies in Leadership series will reflect the school's broad-based, liberal arts approach to the study of leadership. The Jepson School has faculty representatives from the disciplines of English literature, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, public administration, religious studies, and organizational leadership. No other school or program is better situated to provide a multidisciplinary perspective on this important topic.

Sample Chapter

Introduction

"Those who are committed to the value of a liberal education tend not to be half-hearted in their advocacy of this form of preparation to live a fulfilling and committed life. They believe that an individual educated in the liberal arts and sciences is one who is best prepared to meet life’s challenges in thoughtful and creative ways. A liberally educated individual has engaged in the study of our physical, social, and moral universe from a wide variety of perspectives and come away with invaluable skills. Such an education creates an active and engaged intellect that understands not only the self, but also one that is open to the differentness of others. It is an education that hones an ability to deal with ambiguity and change. Perhaps more important, an individual steeped in the liberal arts develops the capability to think critically and, more important yet, a capacity to engage in ethical reasoning in the face of life’s complex challenges."

It is of little wonder that those who are engaged in the provision of a liberal education are so passionate about their life’s calling. They have seen generations of students transformed by this educational experience and take quiet pride in seeing their charges make their way in the world. Yet if the end result were only individual success, most liberal educators would feel that the magnificent education so attained would have been, at least in part, misspent. Implicit in this education that prepares one to fulfill her/his human capacities to the fullest extent is the concurrent expectation that these capabilities will also be devoted to serving something beyond the self. The rhetoric of liberal arts colleges and universities about creating citizens and leaders is not empty bombast. A liberal education has always been about preparing individuals to better not only their own lives, but also the lives of others. We who are engaged in this noble calling take fullest satisfaction from having had a part, in our own small way, through the proxy of our graduates, in contributing to the betterment of our society.

Download Complete Chapter

Download Introduction & Chapter 5 (pdf). Please Note: Chapter Downloads are only available to current ILA members. If you are not already logged into the 'Member's Only' section of the Web site, you will be prompted to do so, after clicking on the above link. Once you are logged in, please follow the navigation link to 'Chapter Downloads' to select the chapters you wish to download. If you are already logged in, you will be taken directly to the 'Chapter Downloads' page.

J. Thomas Wren is a professor at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. A historian and a legal scholar, Tom brings a unique perspective to the study and teaching of leadership. An expert on Virginia, he has written and lectured extensively on subjects including James Madison, the Virginia courts and the historical roots of the values in leadership. His research interests include: the implementation of popular sovereignty in the American experience; the challenge of defining and implementing the common good; the roles of leaders and followers; leadership education; and the intellectual history of leadership.

Ronald E. Riggio, Ph.D., is the Henry R. Kravis Professor of Leadership and Organizational Psychology and Director of the Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremont McKenna College. Ron is the author of over one hundred books, book chapters, and research articles in the areas of leadership, assessment centers, organizational psychology and social psychology. His most recent books are The Art of Followership and The Practice of Leadership, (Jossey-Bass, 2008, 2007), Applications of Nonverbal Behavior (co-edited with Robert S. Feldman; Erlbaum, 2005), and Transformational Leadership (2nd ed.), coauthored with Bernard M. Bass (Erlbaum, 2006). He is the past President of the Western Psychological Association.

Michael A. Genovese currently holds the Loyola Chair of Leadership Studies, is Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Institute for Leadership Studies at Loyola Marymount University. Michael has written twenty-seven books, including The Paradoxes of the American Presidency, (co-authored by Thomas E. Cronin), Oxford University Press, 3rd ed 2009; and Memo to a New President: The Art and Science of Presidential Leadership, Oxford University Press, 2008. He has won over a dozen university and national teaching awards and frequently appears as a commentator on local and national television. He is Associate Editor of White House Studies, and is on the Editorial Board of the journals, Rhetoric & Public Affairs, and the International Leadership Journal. Michael has been The Washington Center’s “scholar-in-residence” at three national political conventions and the 2008 presidential inauguration.

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