Release of Public and Community- Based Leadership Education White Paper
A white paper is a certain type of report that is distinctive in terms of purpose, audience, and organization. This paper was written in August of 2009 by Kathleen Knight Abowitz, Staphanie Raill Jayanandhan, and Sarah Woiteshek. Their goal in producing this paper was to:
"To educate college students for leadership in the public sphere calls for a particular approach to leadership education and a specific understanding of the role of leader. In this white paper, we define and discuss the importance of public and community-based leadership in light of both the relevant leadership literature and the evolving work of one program aiming to implement this model: the Wilks Leadership Institute at Miami University. We define leadership, as practiced in and for public life, to be comprised of the actions of citizens who convene, deliberate, inquire, collaborate, and act with the intent to improve life for fellow citizens in their communities and the larger society. The definitions and assertions about leadership in this white paper are designed to not only shape the future of the Wilks Leadership Institute at Miami University, but to push forward the field of public and community leadership in higher education more broadly."
The paper formulates its theory based on the experience and research of the Wilks Institute.
To read the paper in its entirety Click here