Cultivating Leaders for Social Change

People drive change, and investing in visionary emerging leaders may be our best hope for solving our most urgent problems. Universities, which face increasing calls to do more to respond to societal challenges, are uniquely positioned to provide such promising individuals with education, training and skills to realize their potential.

At Columbia Global, we offer several programs for Columbia faculty and students and for practitioners from outside the university, to develop their leadership and skills to effect change. In 2018, we launched the Obama Foundation Scholars Program at Columbia University, a partnership between Columbia and the Obama Foundation, to connect rising leaders from around the world who are driving change in their communities and countries. To date 82 scholars from 59 countries have participated in the program. Their interests spanned topics such as the climate crisis, technology and innovation, gender equity, displacement, and health and education access.

Inspired by the feedback from these Scholars, two years ago we launched similar programs for Columbia faculty and students. The Early Career Faculty Impact Fellowship is designed for faculty in the early stages of their careers who seek to translate their research and scholarship into programs and policies. For Columbia undergraduate students who aspire to combine their learning with the opportunity to engage with communities around the world, the Social Impact Fellowship offers them carefully-curated skill-building opportunities.

While these initiatives continue to evolve, we have incorporated core principles and elements across all three. These include a cohort-based approach to learning that fosters supportive peer relationships that endure beyond the program; anchoring the program in scholarship, with rigorous attention to supporting participants in deepening their knowledge of topics related to social impact; space for participants to reflect on, assess, and share what they are learning; opportunities for mentorship and receiving guidance from seasoned scholars and practitioners; workshops and seminars that build practical and adaptive leadership skills, including storytelling to advocate for change, conflict resolution, and sessions that underscore the value of monitoring and measurement to track progress and make adjustments when needed.

Some may ask why should universities offer such programs. Given the enormity of the challenges faced today, from emerging health and climate threats to increasing income disparity, academic institutions can be catalysts for developing the change agents we need now more than ever.

About the author: Lisa Dolberry Hancock is the Director of Experiential Learning and Innovation at Columbia World Projects, which is part of Columbia Global.

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