Master of Organizational Leadership Degree to Launch in Fall 2015
Program combines leadership theory, ethics, and the advanced skills necessary to become effective leaders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors
CHICAGO (April 8, 2015) — A leader inspires in others not only a commitment to perform a task, but to be a part of something larger. They exert influence across an organization through meaningful relationships with others, and develop shared purposes in terms of mission and organizational identity. They possess the ability to move an organization from where it is, to where it wants to be.
“A leader has to develop a whole different skill set,” says Dr. Catherine Marsh, who brings three decades of industry experience to the classroom as a professor of business and nonprofit management at North Park University. “Leaders ask: ‘How do we get people to do jobs well? How do we inspire people to take risks? How do we see new possibilities?’ There is a need for people who have developed these competencies.”
Drawing on North Park University’s long history of preparing its students to become effective leaders in their careers and communities, the School of Business and Nonprofit Management is rising to meet that need with a new master of organizational leadership, launching in Fall 2015. Designed for senior executives and entry-level employees alike, the program combines leadership theory, ethics, and the advanced skills necessary to prepare students to become effective leaders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
“This degree teaches someone to engage constituents in multiple groups in a way that makes them feel like they are being led, not managed,” says Dr. Christopher Hubbard, assistant professor of management and leadership, whose own research interests lie at the intersection of career success and self-leadership. “There is a difference, and the coursework at North Park speaks to that difference.”
Amid shifting demographics and an increasingly global economy, the industry-driven curriculum will have immediate relevance in the marketplace and focus on how to lead change initiatives, implement strategic plans, increase organizational effectiveness, make decisions, build relationships with stakeholders, and cultivate the interpersonal skills that are needed to inspire commitment. “This program has direct applicability in areas of training and development, and working with departments around best practices,” Hubbard says.
Courses such as Change Leadership, Diversity and Conflict, Talent Development and Retention, Negotiation and Influence, and Measuring Outcomes and Assessment are among the 18 classes required to earn the degree. Students will take 13 core courses and five electives, providing an opportunity to customize the program to suit their professional interests and career goals.
North Park offers the MOL degree online and in person at our Chicago campus, allowing students to continue to work while advancing their education. All courses are taught by experienced full-time and adjunct faculty who have extensive industry experience and offer a personalized teaching experience. “There is a real, genuine investment in our students' learning and outcomes, and that distinguishes us,” Hubbard says.
Additionally, the program helps students develop and apply their own ethics to decision making. “It can be difficult to discern the appropriate action in a fast-paced and diverse environment,” Marsh says. “Our leadership curriculum is focused on helping students discern, ‘How do I lead and make decisions without all of the information that I’d want to have? How do I develop key relationships that can bring about change?' A leader is someone spending time on growing the self, not just growing their skills.”
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