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Leadership Education and Development Minor

Grow into a transformational leader ready to multiply your impact and inspire positive change on campus, in your community, and in your career.

School of Education | On-Campus

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What You'll Learn

Leaders do more than articulate a vision. Across all industries and career paths, they guide others toward this shared goal, resolve conflicts, facilitate collaboration and communication, and welcome new ideas. Drake University’s Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) minor lets any undergraduate, regardless of major or study area, build these vital skills in preparation for a future of greater influence and effectiveness.

Theories form the baseline of leadership as a discipline, and in this minor, you’ll see how, where, and why they work. Active, immersive learning translates classroom concepts to the field, starting on campus before progressing into the community and the workplace.

In core courses, you’ll examine classical works and the current principles and practices for assembling teams, building a shared vision, managing disagreements, and navigating change. Simulations, community projects, and a capstone experience test your growing instincts and help you define your leadership style through different scenarios.

Options like focused electives add depth and let you direct your personal leadership journey. Throughout, emphasis on self-awareness and ethical leadership helps you shape yourself into a person of integrity, equipping you to rise to new challenges and empower society at large.

About the Leadership Education and Development Minor

  • Add sought-after leadership skills to your major to increase your competitiveness in the job market.
    Learn to lead from those who know how.
  • Choose from electives and custom internships to align your training with your professional aspirations.
  • Start to understand leadership as a collaborative, ethical, and inclusive process based around actions that uplift individuals and communities.

Program Facts

  • On campus
  • 16 credits for the minor
  • Open to all majors on campus

Program Options

Do more than call yourself a leader. Establish your ethical compass and a record of achievements through the LEAD minor’s real-world approach.

Leadership Education and Development Minor

Follow a carefully designed sequence of core courses that layer leadership principles with hands-on experiences. Then, choose electives to explore up-to-date methods for fostering positive social change and the wider influence of leadership.

Meet the Faculty

Drawn from diverse areas, program faculty possess deep experience in leadership and a commitment to passing on what they’ve learned to a new generation of emerging changemakers.

Tom Buckmiller, Ph.D.

Tom Buckmiller, Ph.D.

Professor, Education

Outside the Classroom

Drake’s LEAD minor gets you out of the lecture hall and into the world, where you’ll grow as you give back through authentic engagement with individuals and groups.

the lead capstone students opening a thrift shop as their community project

Capstone

In a culminating experience, you’ll work with a local business, non-profit organization, school, or another entity to plan and pursue an initiative to drive meaningful, positive change while receiving support and feedback from a faculty mentor.

The leadership mural students made on the second floor of collier-scripps

Campus and Community Projects

From playing an active role within a campus organization to service-learning opportunities around the Des Moines area, you’ll practice communicating, collaborating, and strategizing as you engage in impactful projects.

community members exploring a student made thrift shop

Student Leadership Development Programs

The LEAD program is just one way to refine your leadership skills at Drake. From the Adams Leadership Institute to domain-specific groups like Healthcare Leaders, discover a place to make your mark.

Careers & Skills

The complex set of competencies you gain through Drake’s LEAD minor is an asset for any career path—the arts, entrepreneurship, healthcare, education, research, and more.

As you browse job postings, you’ll find that employers deliberately list the qualities you acquire through the LEAD minor: team building, conflict management, project development, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion. Reflecting this broad applicability, the LEAD curriculum gives you an edge early on and remains relevant for every stage after.

Opportunities

  • Administrative analyst
  • Assistant manager
  • Corporate training facilitator
  • Entrepreneur
  • Program director
  • Project coordinator

Skills

  • Communicate clearly and persuasively
  • Effectively lead individuals and teams
  • Lead through conflict with civility
  • Maintain reflective contact with one’s own values, strengths, goals, and areas for growth
  • Understand and practice leadership as a collaborative, inclusive, and ethical process
  • Understand and work productively with individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds
Two women walking out of Collier-Scripps talking and dressed business casual

How to Join

To formally declare the Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) minor, students should submit a Change of Record request. This can be found on the MyDrake page under the Student Records tab. Students should consult with their faculty advisor prior to declaring the concentration.

College/School Dean's Offices:

  • Arts and Sciences, FAC 268A
  • Zimpleman College of Business, Aliber 208
  • Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Cline 206
  • Journalism, Meredith 118
  • Education, Collier-Scripps 234
Find interactive directions to each of these locations by selecting the office you will be visiting from the menu on the left-hand navigation.
“The skills I have gained as a LEAD graduate will carry me beyond graduation as I have the confidence to take on any big project that comes my way.”
Brynn Miracle, JO’24

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Take the Next Step

In Drake’s Leadership Education and Development minor, an immersive journey positions you to amplify your unique contribution in any setting.

Contact us

Tom Buckmiler, PhD
Professor, Director of LEAD
515-271-4989
thomas.buckmiler@drake.edu

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