Abstract:
Leadership ability is recognized as important among all professions. The problem of weak leadership among college student leaders and their organizations recurs each year as older leaders graduate or move on and new or less experienced leaders step forward into leadership positions. Weak leadership is sometimes rooted in a lack of awareness of the possibilities and opportunities and can be overcome through education. To overcome these problems, a new leader orientation session was planned for two college student organizations. The idea grew into a college-wide leadership conference with student leaders from eight College of Agriculture student organizations invited to participate. The first annual "College of Agriculture Student Leadership Conference" was conducted in 1992. From the beginning the consensus among the planners, dean, agricultural community, and the students participating in the event was that this should be continued as an annual event. Over the 13-year history of the event, annual evaluations reveal underlying principles that help guide the planning process. While cultural and institutional differences exist across the U.S., these lessons offer a starting point from which other conference planners can begin a dialogue on how to plan their own leadership conference.
Keywords:
leadership, conferences, lessons
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