Meredith
April 16, 2003
ERALU
Volume XVIV, Issue 25
Twenty-four M.B.A. students participate
in Marine ieadersiiip program
Merodlth becomes
only the fourth col
lege In the nation to
participate in lead
ership program.
TIFFANY ADAMS
Managing Editor
Meredith students
enrolled in the Master of
Business Administration
(M.B.A.) program had a
unique, once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to attend the
best leadership training
program our country has to
offer.
On Thursday, 24 M.B.A.
candidates from Meredith
attended a leadership devel
opment training program at
the United States Marine
Corps Officer Candidates
School in Quantico, Va.
The weekend-long pro
gram, entitled "Learning
Leadership and Decision
Making Under Uncertainty
and Complexity," is
designed to directly chal
lenge individuals to reflect
and reexamine their moral
character.
All potential U.S. Marine
Corps officers undergo the
intensive training that these
students had the opportuni
ty to experience in an
abridged version. This is
quite a unique opportunity
for Meredith students since
only three other universities
participate in the leadership
training program. Wharton
School of Business at the
University of Pennsylvania,
the top-ranked business
school in the country by
Business Week, sends
approximately 80 graduate
students to Quantico each
year to engage in this train
ing.
Students at the University
of Virginia and Johns
Hopkins University have
this unique opportunity as
well.
According to Dr. Sidney
Adkins, dean of the School
of Business and retired
Marine Corps colonel,
Marines have ti\e reputation
of having great success
with demanding tasks
because of the quality and
depth of their leadership
training. As one who has
personally experienced the
training, Adkins sees the
value in building strong
leadership skills for stu
dents who hope to become
leaders in the corporate
world.
Adkins currently teaches
a leadership course in the
M.B.A. program and decid
ed to incorporate this train
ing at the Marine Corps
base as a component for the
class because the idea was
well received by students.
Adkins described the
training as a "broadening
and stretching experience."
Laura Query, M.B.A. can
didate, agreed with
Adkins's description of the
program. She said the pro
gram was challenging for
her, but it was a bonding
experience for the students.
After arriving at the
Officer Candidates School
in Quantico, Va, partici
pants lost their identities as
M.B.A. candidates and
assumed a new identity as a
potential Marine Corps
officer. As Adkins
explained, the participants
were treated just as
Marines are.
They were picked up by
drill instructors who led
them to the barracks.
Friday morning students
attended a lecture on lead
ership by a senior staff
member at the Marine
Corps base. Following the
lecture, students were
divided into teams that con
sisted of approximately five
members each. The teams
were presented with ardu
ous tasks, filled with obsta
cles and imposing time lim
its.
"It is not whether you
accomplish the task or not
where the learning occurs,
it is in the process," Adkins
said. Each individual's per
formance under the stress
ful situation reveals a great
deal about the group
dynamics and each person's
approach to problem solv
ing, decision making and
leadership. A key element
in the exercise is reflection,
which serves for each per
son to examine him or her
self and identifies his or her
weaknesses and strengths.
Participants reflect on their
approaches to solving the
task under experienced drill
instructors who identify
their shortcomings in deal
ing with the task.
Following these exercis
es, participants tackled
another challenge, the
Leadership Reaction
Course. According to
Adkins, the experience
"serves as a laboratory for
students because they learn
through trial and error." At
this point, the drill instruc
tor emei^es as a coach to
guide participants.
Successfiil completion of
the course requires team
work and dynamic deci
sion-making skills under
pressure. Query said, "It
enables you to rise abovet
your own apprehensions
about yourself for the bet
terment of the team."
Adkins saidthat engag
ing in this leadership pro
gram offers several benefits
for participants. The learn
ing objective, he said, was,
"to serve as a laboratory for
students, develop leader
ship and build camaraderie
among students."
He said the program
offers students an outstand
ing opportuni^ to apply the
concepts of leadership
learned through coursework
in the M.B.A. program.
Adkins stressed the impor
tance of leadership in the
corporate world by distin
guishing between those
who are often labeled as
leaders and those who are
true leaders. He said what
is often called leadership is
better classified as manage
ment. True leaders, accord
ing to Adkins, possess a
strong moral character.
See Marines
Page 2
On tiie inside:
Check out the schedule for Find out about a recent rash
Read the latest round of
Celebrating Student
of campus thefts.
letters to the editor.
Achievement Day!
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