By Sandra J. Peart, Dean and E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in Leadership Studies and President of the Jepson Scholars Foundation
When I ask students for examples of leaders they admire, they frequently talk about a coach or someone who has helped them perform athletically. In this time of increasingly divided politics, they look to a different sort of role model.
Read moreWhat is it about games that draws us to them? Five days at the beach where I had the opportunity to observe evening volleyball matches, two-on-two basketball, corn hole, Frisbee, bocce, and more left me ruminating about this question. I look
Read moreI worry a great deal about the recent rise in nationalism, the tendency to stress national characteristics and superiority. I’m more sanguine about patriotism, a love of place and people without the assumption of being better than others. Political leaders
Read moreDoes our democracy work? The Jepson Leadership Forum explored this question throughout the academic year, hosting a politician (Levar Stoney), political advisor (Melody Barnes), historian (Blanche Wiesen Cook), and experts on poverty (Peter Edelman), elections (Larry Bartels), and technology (Zeynep
Read moreSeveral weeks ago I attended the College of William & Mary’s commencement. Actress and William & Mary alumna Glenn Close spoke eloquently about her journey to college—by no means a typical one—including how and why she landed at one of
Read moreAs our students and faculty are busy completing and grading final assignments, respectively, I have been reflecting on the semester. This spring, I taught the cross-listed leadership studies/economics class Competition, Cooperation, and Choice. The course covers ground from Bernard
Read moreNous sommes avec vous. Such was our predominant sentiment as we watched the horrific fire at Notre Dame Cathedral Monday. People the world over were deeply moved by the images of the burning cathedral. We experienced a deep sense of
Read moreIn my seminar class at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, my students and I have been reading John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty and thinking about its relevance in our world of hyper-critical speech and online insults. Readers of these
Read moreScholars of leadership sometimes neglect a fundamentally important leadership concept—leadership of the self. Yesterday, I delivered remarks at Arizona State University on John Stuart Mill and economic freedom. I argued that, for Mill, economic freedom is less about efficiency and
Read moreCitizens of democracies often don’t understand issues well enough to vote in a way that reflects their best interests, according to political scientist Dr. Larry Bartels. He said even the few who are well informed and politically engaged generally vote
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