UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Increasingly, today's employers are looking beyond degrees, majors and interviewing skills to find students who will be tomorrow's leaders in the workplace. Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has created a new undergraduate major and minor to help students understand effective leadership styles, skills and competencies.

The new "leadership development and communications" program was established in the department of agricultural and extension education for students wanting to develop their leadership potential. According to Phyllis Adams, associate professor of agricultural and extension education, the program helps students learn how to be more effective in their chosen professions.

"Job recruiters tell us that college graduates often excel in technical expertise, but are weak when it comes to reaching beyond mechanical compliance with directions and orders," Adams says. "By exploring leadership styles; social, cultural, and political influences; system constraints; environmental concerns; personal responsibility issues; and ethical practices, graduates will be prepared to be effective in a variety of organizational settings and to help others accomplish their respective goals."

Unlike the other options in agricultural and extension education, the leadership development and communication option is not intended for students seeking teacher certification.

"This major brings together instruction in leadership practices, cross-cultural concepts, critical thinking, decision making and more," Adams says. "Students also will study current and past leaders and their ability to initiate a course of action and empower others to make their vision become a reality.

"Tremendous opportunities for agriculture graduates exist in government service, public relations, lobbying or sales. This major prepares students with the technical skills and offers grounding in the ethical dimensions of advocacy and leadership."

The option includes courses in written and oral communication, quantification and natural sciences. It also teaches students:

• Leadership styles, including democratic vs. autocratic, centralized vs. decentralized, engaged vs. remote, empathetic vs. detached, assertive vs. passive
• Technical skills, such as problem solving, decision making, conflict resolution, working with teams/groups, speaking and writing
• Conceptual skills, including the capacity to play with ideas, seek advice and forge a grand strategy
• Human relations skills, such as the ability to supervise, inspire, build coalitions and be sensitive to ethnic and cultural diversity issues
• Psychological styles, including ways of handling stress, tensions and internal conflicts
• Behavioral styles or tendencies in relating to others

The 18-credit undergraduate minor in leadership development was designed for students who want to enhance any academic major with leadership development instruction. According to Adams, the minor allows students to pursue their professional interests while developing the skills and knowledge necessary for anyone in a leadership position. "Employers are looking for people who know how to develop a vision into a plan of action, sell the plan to others and work as part of a team," she says. "The minor is open to students in any college in the university."

For more information on the leadership development and communication programs, contact Dr. Phyllis F. Adams by phone at 814-863-7408, or e-mail at padams@psu.edu.

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EDITORS: Contact Phyllis Adams at 814-863-7408.

Contacts: Gary Abdullah gxa2@psu.edu 814-863-2708 814-865-1068 fax