 |
| Current Issue: |
Volume 130, Number 1 |
July 14, 2009 |
Features
Cadets participate in leadership conference
U.S. Naval Academy hosts “Leadership and National Crisis: It’s Everyone’s Business”
Posted 02-06-2002 at 7:19PM
Commandant Steven Liddy
Special to The Poly
Rensselaer students from the departments of aerospace studies and naval science recently participated in the U.S. Naval Academy Leadership Conference. The three-day conference, coordinated by the Naval Postgraduate School and the U.S. Naval Academy, brought together the best minds in the practice and study of leadership to exchange ideas, experiences, and approaches with military and civilian students. This year’s conference theme, “Leadership and National Crisis: It’s Everyone’s Business,” emphasized a pioneering effort to integrate perspectives from the spectrum of academia, business, government, and military leadership in light of recent American challenges.
The unique leadership program was jointly designed by the Naval Postgraduate School and the U.S. Naval Academy to prepare officers for the responsibilities associated with becoming officers at the U.S. Naval Academy and leaders throughout their careers through graduate education based on current practices, accepted theory, and research. The program is taught by knowledgeable faculty from a wide range of disciplines including group dynamics, information technology, ethics, trend analysis, and Department of Defense policy.
On the first evening, participants presented displays of leadership programs in use at their universities. Rensselaer’s exhibit featured items from the Lally School of Management and Technology, the Archer Center for Student Leadership Development, and the Air Force, Army, and Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps. During the conference, students from 13 different schools collaborated in groups to evaluate solutions to case studies and provide task input. The participants from both military academies and civilian institutions were directed with the assignment of providing analysis and suggestions for real-world applications of home-land defense by General Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Marine Corps.
Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson attended the conference on the last day. She participated in a group panel discussion with Admiral Richard W. Mies, former commander in chief, United States Strategic Command; Dr. John J. Hamre, former U.S. deputy secretary of defense, and president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies; and Eric P. Grubman, former partner of Goldman Sachs and Co. and current co-president of the Constellation Energy Group. The panel discussed their views of leadership in relation to experiences in business, academia, military, and industry. A capstone project brought the groups back together to review lessons learned during the conference. Although the Naval Academy Leadership Conference has been held in previous years, this was the first year that representatives from both miltiary academies and civilian institutions participated in the conference.
|
