SMALL CAMPUS PROVIDES FERTILE GROUND FOR LEADERSHIP

Small colleges can provide the perfect environment for young people to learn and practice important skills to become leaders. The colleges that do it well have solid values and core beliefs that guide decisions and influence the faculty, sta , and students, according to two McPherson College Board of Trustee members with decades of experience in student a airs.

“The good colleges have values with faculty and sta who don’t lose sight of why they are in higher education,” said Carolyn Coon. “Their role is to shape and educate young people to prepare them for life past college.”

“At McPherson College, we live by our mission,” ShaRhonda Maclin said. “It’s the fiber of who we are and important because it gives us a responsibility to continue to provide guidance and resources that transcend generations.”

Both Coon and Maclin currently serve on the McPherson Board of Trustees and are alumnae of small private colleges. Maclin graduated from McPherson College in 2000, and Coon is a graduate of Bethel College. And both previously worked at McPherson College in student a airs.

Maclin is the associate dean of students and executive director of housing and residence life at the University of Oklahoma. She earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and early childhood special education from McPherson College and her master’s degree in higher education administration with a concentration in student services from the University of Oklahoma. She holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Capella University. Before her move to the University of Oklahoma, she served as vice president for student a airs and dean of students at McPherson and then at Tarleton State University.

Coon recently retired from California State University at Fresno as the associate vice president for student a airs and dean of students. In the late 1990s, she worked as the director of residence life, dean of students, and associate professor of behavioral science at McPherson College. She received her bachelor’s degree from Bethel College, her master’s degree from Wichita State University, and her doctorate from Kansas State University.

Maclin and Coon agree that observing, learning, and practicing leadership skills on college campuses is essential and even more critical now. Because of the disruption caused by the covid pandemic, students have few leadership experiences to draw upon. Maclin says it is essential that college campuses find ways to keep students engaged.

“This post-covid generation lost leadership examples, and colleges are establishing or re-establishing these roles,” she said. “Students are pulled in so many directions and are laser-focused sooner in their college experience. We have to find ways for them to explore themselves through leadership opportunities. College is a safe place for them to try out leadership skills and sometimes fail.”

“There are so many examples of poor leadership out there today, and it’s easy to get caught up in technology and lose sight of what is important,” Coon added. “That’s why we need to provide experiences for students to learn to talk to people, in person, instead of looking at each other in boxes on a screen.”

Providing opportunities and o ering support is something that smaller colleges do well. Mentorship and building relationships with faculty and sta are more easily accessed on a smaller campus, Coon said.

“On a smaller campus, faculty get to know students personally,” Coon said. “They can help them learn from their mistakes. It’s a blessing for the students who come to places like McPherson College to know, yes, we might all be watching you, but we also have your back. Mistakes will be made, but it’s better to learn from them now and avoid them when you’re older and have a mortgage.”

Maclin adds that she still uses many of the lessons she learned as a student in her career and implements many of the Kansas Leadership Center’s concepts used at McPherson College.

“A leader does not have to be a person with a title,” she said. “The best opportunities are the ones that give others agency to lead. As a student at McPherson College, Sharon Knechel, the vice president for student a airs, saw my potential and suggested, that I, as a freshman, run for SGA president. I was able to engage with campus leaders personally. As a student, you don’t always get to spend time with the president. That idea of servant leadership has always been at the core of McPherson College.”

The skills learned through leadership opportunities are important skills that have applications beyond college. Communication, meeting structure, conflict resolution, managing people, and time are all transferrable skills sought in today’s job market. And for many students, practicing leadership skills o ers opportunities to work with a wide diversity of people for the first time.

“Leadership at college provides extremely valuable lessons,” Maclin said. “Students can influence policy and process during their four years. They have a seat at the table and can see themselves moving the needle.”

“Leadership has never been about having power for me,” Coon said. “It boils down to learning how to be helpful, navigate life, and be a good person.”