Wiley College will welcome you to the Fifth Ethical Student Leadership Conference with the opening banquet. Conference participants will celebrate the diversity of each other and explore the themes of each plenary session. A message from the keynote speaker, Dr. Tom McDaniel, Chancellor of Oklahoma City University, will set the tone for two days of learning.

The wise and enduring leader is one who knows when and how to be a follower. Effective leaders know the balance between “close-in listening” and “getting out in front, on the edge, with courage.” Not all leaders are always advancing. There is the need for retreat, sabbatical time, and space for the rekindling of imagination. It is the balance between staying close enough to hear neighborhood voices and being in front enough to envision a distant goal. Research on “Followership” indicates that leaders succeed when there is this counterpoint of activity. Leadership is sustained when a person of integrity offers a way forward that is marked by significance, enthusiasm and participation in a shared community. Those leaders who provide long-lived excellence also know the importance of following.

Dr. Siegel will discuss how “Invitational” leaders intentionally invite themselves and others – personally and professionally – to build effective community leaders based on the principles of trust, respect, optimism and intentionality.

“You take the high road; and I’ll take the low road and I’ll be in Scotland before ye.”  These lyrics from an old Scottish Ballard have absolutely nothing to do with morality.  Yet coupled with the American adage “Nice guys finish last” the framework is laid for a robust discussion on the political, social perception; and realities of “doing the right thing for the right reasons.”

Students who accept the clarion call of leadership on the college campus are often challenged with providing leadership to those who live among them. Their lives are on display in the residence halls, the cafeteria, student life activities and in religious life. The truth is that all students are in development and are often criticized when their peers perceive “their walk doesn’t line up with their talk.” This session will provide guidance and direction for student leaders to grow and operate in “A Place of Truth.”

This presentation will investigate the great global challenges of peace, poverty, and planet earth and the importance of developing moral leadership to care for our world in what may very well be the make or break century for creating a more sustainable and just human civilization.

Can we trust our spiritual leaders to be ethical and to lead by example or to do as they say not as they do? Does coverage of church affairs and unethical leaders affect/effect our faith, leadership and personal choices? From the ministry of Billy Graham to the much publicized scandals in mainline denominations, if these leaders and structures are supposed to be the model of ethical leadership, how do we stay focused on God, our personal calling and ethical choices in the midst of turmoil, confusion and decay?

The Center for Ethical Leadership defines ethical leadership as knowing your core values and having the courage to live them in all parts of your life in service of the common good.  This presentation will be a personal and professional reflection on the challenges of being an authentic and ethically responsible leader in a highly global world.  Professor Rodriguez will expound on the challenges of discovering one’s own voice and adhering to personal standards in a world of incredible richness and profound difference.

If you are thinking about going to graduate school, this is the event to learn more about what options are available to you. Students participating in the Ethical Student Leadership Conference will be able to meet with graduate school representatives face-to-face. Students will have an opportunity to learn about particular schools and gain an early start on the graduate school application process.

Delivering Freedom to the Reluctant: What can we learn from Harriet Tubman? – The legendary conductor of the Underground Railroad was confronted by many who were reluctant to make the journey. This talk will survey African American women who have historically changed the world against odds and reservation and what we can learn from their ethical positions.

Ethics and Politics are perceived as an oxymoron, a figure of speech, which links two contradictory concepts.  Like chalk and cheese, ethics and politics don’t seem to go together.  Politicians are generally considered to be the least trustworthy professionals.  This session will discuss the virtues of serving our country in an honorable manor and that there is honor in politics! (Excerpt from Ethics and Politics-Joseph Rotblat). 

The keynote speaker for the Closing Banquet will give the conferees examples of how ethical leadership changed the world in which they live.  She will advance the ideas that the world needs leaders who can navigate with integrity the ambiguities of modern business, law, medicine, domestic politics, and international relations.  It needs thoughtful activists, passionate social entrepreneurs, and relentless humanitarians, who will change the future of our world (Excerpt from The School for Ethics and Global Leadership).