4 minute read
Growing Leadership
Top Leaders Institute Brings Another Successful Year
BROTHERS FROM ACROSS THE nation joined the National Fraternity and the Educational Foundation at six Top Leaders Institutes this past January to explore leadership behaviors, discuss risk management, mental health and Make Better Men.
Nearly all chapters were in attendance this year. Brothers met in Atlanta, Georgia; Reno, Nevada; Kansas City, Missouri; Dallas, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; and Albany, New York.
The content was refined based on feedback received last year and offered a greater emphasis on risk management and mental health resources for brothers to use. Brothers worked with alumni and other chapters to learn more on these topics, create SMART goals for their chapter, develop a stronger understanding of their officer role and share ideas with one another.
Friday kicked off with identifying individual leadership behaviors and how to sharpen them. Saturday was focused on officer training and strategic goal setting. Assessment data collected show that brothers who attended feel that their overall knowledge of the topics discussed increased.
This year's content was refined to offer a greater emphasis on risk management and mental health resources.
Several chapters took to social media to showcase the educational experiences they were having at the Top Leaders Institutes while also sharing some of their greatest takeaways.
Alpha Beta Chapter (Oregon State) shared, “Our executive team was able to attend the Top Leaders Institute in Reno, Nevada, this past weekend! There, they gained [greater] perspective and learned tools to improve leadership skills for the betterment of the chapter. We were able to meet and connect with brothers all over the West Coast as well!”
Alpha Lambda Chapter at New Mexico State said, “After 32 hours and 1,800 miles on the road, the 2025 AGR Executive Board attended Top Leaders Institute in Reno, Nevada. Bringing back with them knowledge and expertise to advance the Alpha Lambda Chapter. The brothers all had a great time meeting other chapters and hearing other perspectives about how AGR can be driven toward excellence. We also had the privilege of working alongside one of our alumnus Brothers, Cael Alderete.”
Beta Gamma Chapter from Wisconsin–Platteville shared, “This weekend our chapter’s executive team attended Top Leaders Institute in Chicago. Our officers were able to gain valuable leadership and management skills that they can each bring back to the chapter.”
“Members of our executive board had a great time attending the Top Leaders Institute put on by the National Fraternity in Chicago. We learned different types of leadership skills we can bring back to benefit the Alpha Chapter,” shared our University of Illinois chapter.
Brother Tom Meyer, an alumnus of Beta Alpha Chapter at Southern Illinois, who was in attendance at the Chicago location, shared in an email to the Home Office, “We want to express our sincere appreciation for an excellent Top Leaders Institute. Depth of content showed a large incremental increase. The list of accomplishments by our team is deep and extensive. It would not have happened without TLI.”
Dr. Amanda Horvat, AGR’s Director of Leadership and Education, said the goal has always been to make Top Leaders Institute a world-class leadership training opportunity for chapter officer teams to develop individualized plans for long-term chapter success. The AGR Home Office team is always looking for ways to enhance the experience and create an environment where brothers can learn from one another.
The National Fraternity would like to thank the Home Office team, the National Board of Directors, the Board of Directors of the Educational Foundation, those who donated to the Capital Campaign and all alumni volunteers who made this successful national event possible for a fourth year.
