successfully addressing the leadership gap:
Anderson University meets the need with a new Ph.D. in Leadership It’s not hyperbolic to say the future of organizations is at risk. The cause? A lack of leadership.
Here’s how: Students in both concentrations take core classes in leadership that cover topics including organizational structure and culture, leadership strategies, team development and leadership philosophy.
Among those sounding the alarm, the Journal of Leadership Accountability and Ethics in 2018 illustrated the crossroads we face: “Leadership development…is an urgent and challenging issue. Organizations globally are striving to identify and develop outstanding leaders who will be able to face the new challenges, embrace change, deal with crises, solve real-life problems and have an impact not only on their organizations, but on society at large.” Anderson University has always educated future Christian leaders. The difference today is one of urgency—hence the logic behind Anderson University’s newest Ph.D. program. Last fall, the University launched a Doctorate of Philosophy in Leadership, a fully online program available to students focused on careers in business or Christian ministry. Academics and researchers apparently aren’t alone in recognizing the dearth of leadership development programs in higher education. Students see it. Case in point: last fall, 50 students entered the Ph.D. in Leadership program. It was an overwhelming response that defied expectations. They were evenly split between those enrolling in the College of Business and the College of Christian Studies, both of which offer concentrations specific to their fields. Beyond the supply of, and demand for, leadership training in higher education, the program’s convenience and real-life applications are a draw for many students. “It’s very practical and insightful,” said Dr. George Parks, a ministry leadership student and senior pastor of New Hope Baptist Church, a congregation with locations in North Little Rock and Conway, Arkansas.
14 | IT ’ S TI M E TO C EL E BRAT E !
Dr. Emory Berry, Jr.
Drs. Berry and Parks also say that the Ph.D. in Leadership program works well for the lives of busy pastors. It gives them space for reflection: of their own leadership, the needs of their congregation, and the perspective of their colleagues. In the program concentrations, students take classes that address leadership issues in their respective fields. For example, business students take seminars on consulting skills so they can assess whether change is needed in individual positions, in teams of employees and throughout organizations,
