The rankings placed SOBE in the number 22 spot in the “Education/Universities/Schools of Business and Management” category, right behind UC Berkley’s Haas School of Business. SOBE jumped seven spots from its number 29 position last year.
Leadership development is an integral part of the SOBE experience, from its inclusion in the school’s course content to its integration throughout the fabric of student experience. Leadership principles and skills are developed across the curriculum through classes such as “Leadership and the Classics,” “Ethical Dilemmas in Business and Leadership,” and “Crisis Management.”
Beyond the classroom, students gain leadership skills through active participation in the Anderson Leadership Conference, the SOBE Student Advisory Board, the Lynchburg Collegiate Entrepreneur’s Organization, and the Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity. According to School of Business and Economics Dean Joe Turek, “Our partnership with LC’s Office of Student Activities and the addition of co-curricular activities into our leadership programs gave a real boost to our position in the rankings.”
Turek also believes that executive-level interactions with community leaders, members of the SOBE Board of Advisors, and lecturers in the School of Business Ethics Series add to the richness of the SOBE leadership development experience.
Leadership Excellence magazine was founded in 1984 by management gurus Ken Shelton, Stephen R. Covey, Ken Blanchard, and Charles Garfield to provide a forum where, according to leadershipexcel.com, “the foremost minds on management and leadership [could] share their breakthrough ideas.”
This year, more than a thousand organizations and institutions were assessed based on the seven selection criteria used for the rankings. These criteria include vision/mission; involvement and participation; measurement and accountability; design, content, and curriculum; presenters, presentations, and delivery; take-home value; and outreach and outcomes
“Having this criteria,” says Shelton, “helps us to weed out those programs that may be well intentioned but lack substance and fail to deliver promised results.”
Check the rankings or PDF. For more information, call 434.544.8417.
