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Eisenhower Institute’s New Virtual Format Leads to Programming Changes BY ALLI DAYTON
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he Eisenhower Institute (EI) prepares students for careers in public, private, and nonprofit sectors through programs that teach students about leadership, networking, and translating their knowledge to positive action. Some of the distinctive program’s year-long or semester-long programs include Washington Connections, Environmental Leadership, Strategy and Leadership in Transformational Times, Contours of the Middle East, Inside Civil Rights, and Women and Leadership. Like many organizations on Gettysburg College’s campus, the pandemic led to the implementation of a multitude of changes. For one,
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all EI programs are being held virtually this spring which, in many ways, has resulted in a reframing of the experiential learning opportunities offered. “Since the outbreak of the pandemic, we have focused on how to enhance the student experience during these challenging times,” said Environmental Leadership Program Director Dr. Howard Ernst. At the onset of the pandemic, the students participating in this specific EI program were conducting research in the field when a State of Emergency was called. This led to “a long and unplanned drive back to campus from South Florida,” he said.
Over a year later, the Environmental Leadership program is being conducted completely online. According to Ernst, another change includes “the decision to offer a less research-intensive version of the Environmental Leadership Program to twice as many students.” Similarly, the Women and Leadership Program “adapted programming to move into the virtual world,” said Women and Leadership Director and Public Policy Professor Anne Douds. “We retained our speaker series, added some activities that can be done virtually such as Zoom interviews with women leaders on campus, and we added some readings so we
