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Our complicated global society requires effective leadership. Undergraduate Leadership programs vary in design and implementation to provide college students with the opportunity to acquire knowledge about the leadership process and develop their skills to become more effective leaders themselves. The purpose of this program evaluation study was to determine how elements of student involvement experiences within the academic and co-curricular components of a comprehensive, 4-year leadership program contributed to retention and learning outcomes for students. Program attrition rates represented a potential learning loss at a small, residential, public regional institution, where the study of leadership was emphasized. Through document and artifact review and interviews with four key campus administrative stakeholders and a diverse group of 23 students who began the program as freshmen, the academic coursework in leadership and service-learning requirements were found to have the greatest positive impact on learning outcomes and program persistence. Overall, students attributed their personal and professional development outcomes associated specifically with program participation as valuable to their future aspirations of engaging successfully in the leadership process to contribute positively in their careers and civic lives. A disconnection between the academic and co-curricular components was evident, and the ePortfolio, learning community, and speaker event components were identified as areas where implementation improvements could lead to bridging that gap and increasing program retention and leadership learning outcomes. With an articulated emphasis on pursuing positive social change, this leadership program can do just that by improving program retention rates and the number of graduates with an elevated understanding of and capacity for leadership.

The problem of interest for this study is to understand more about the leaders of graduate education in the United States, namely the graduate deans. After surveying the topic itself and the gaps in the relevant literature, I conducted a mixed-methods study through a sequential design to fill the gap in the literature on graduate deans as mid-level academic leaders in institutional contexts and to provide theoretical and empirical evidence in advancing the knowledge on academic leaders and leadership in U.S. graduate education. The study employs multiple data collection methods, including document analysis, a survey, and multiple case studies. Demographic information on the leaders of graduate education is reported. Additionally, the survey measured the perceptions of graduate deans regarding the importance of various responsibilities of a graduate school as well as their abilities to achieve those functions at the individual, unit, and institutional levels. The quantitative findings were further supported by eight participants’ in-depth case descriptions as well as cross-case examinations. The data integration drew both survey and case study analyses and affirmed graduate deans’ leadership experiences as mid-level leaders, in addition to how individuals’ development as leaders were shaped by the context of organizations and the culture of higher education. Implications for practice and research conclude the study and should be of interest for those who are interested in advancing the U.S. graduate education as practitioners and researchers.

Undergraduate experiences can have a profound impact on a student’s emotional connection and affinity for their alma mater. For many graduates, involvement experiences like student organizations, membership in fraternities and sororities, and on-campus jobs can become an ingrained part of the individual’s social identity. This phenomenological study examines the experiences of young alumni at Christopher Newport University (CNU) through interviews with members of the class of 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. The research examines their experiences through the lens of Social Identity Theory, particularly the components of prestige and distinctiveness that are believed to increase connection to an identity or group. The results of this study indicated that meaningful relationships, skill development, and individually curated experiences were the practices most likely to increase the perceived prestige and distinctiveness of the institution. The most frequent outcomes from students with these experiences were continued service to CNU through giving back, and a sense of connection to the positive growth of the institution.