Thursday, September 6, 2001

Additional staff member added to leadership center
By Erin LaMourie
Staff Reporter

Increased interest in leadership classes has prompted the TCU Leadership Center to hire an assistant.

Lisa K’Bedford was hired as assistant director of the leadership center to find new ideas, help bring more awareness about class options and help more students get involved, said Penny Woodcock, program coordinator for the TCU Leadership Center.

Before coming to TCU, K’Bedford worked for the Center for Ethical Leadership and the National Coalition Building Institute in Seattle.

Woodock said the leadership center expects 150 more students to enroll this year.Created in 1994 with two classes, the leadership center’s activities currently include the Chancellor’s Leadership Program for freshmen, which started Aug. 27, and other leadership classes, which begin the week of Sept. 24.

About 800 students participated in leadership classes last year and about 500 students are in the Chancellor’s Leadership Program this semester, Woodcock said.

Woodcock said she was previously the only Leadership Center staff member and she wanted to hire a new staff member to assist her.“With the focus on leadership and development across campus, the (TCU) mission statement has been the driving force,” Woodcock said. “We need to have someone else to share in that mission so that we can provide students with the best possible programs and best possible services.”

K’Bedford said her responsibilities will include marketing, recruiting students, working with the advanced classes and enhancing current programs.

“There are a lot of programs in the office we only look at a little bit now and part of what I am going to be doing is looking to see how we can more strongly focus on them,” she said.

K’Bedford said she would like to see an increase in the number of international opportunities the leadership center offers.

She would like to look into programs in South Africa and Katmandu, Nepal. She is also looking into a program with the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre and Leadership Academy and another program in Katmandu to learn about Buddhist leadership prospectives, she said.K’Bedford said she will also be working with the student-led leadership council.

“I am hoping to see our leadership council be a strong support for the student organization for the office and for the whole campus,” K’Bedford said.

Erin LaMourie
e.m.lamourie@student.tcu.edu