Undergraduate Organizational Leadership

Famed leadership scholar, and former UC President, Warren Bennis (1997) once wrote:

“Good leaders make people feel that they're at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens people feel centered and that gives their work meaning.”

Whether you are a student navigating a group project, participating on an athletics team, or helping lead a student organization, or a professional working in private enterprise, community or non-profit organizations, education, government, or other sectors of the workplace, effective leadership is needed to motivate others and drive results in an innovative, sound, and ethical way.

The BA Organizational Leadership degree is designed for students who want to affect positive change in and outside of the workplace.  Grounded in the psychological and social sciences, our interdisciplinary program will help students develop their knowledge of leadership as a science and discipline and to build their own leadership competencies so that they may perform as effective leaders within their organizations and society.  Students have multiple opportunities to engage in “real world” experiences, including service-learning projects and internships, and to meet and learn from local and national leaders.

We do not believe that leadership is tied to a position, but that each of us has the capacity to lead from wherever we are.  Thus, our goal is to develop students who understand how organizations function, we possess strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and are self-, socially-, and globally aware.  Our students pursue a range of careers, including human resources, marketing, nonprofit program coordination and management, and data science (e.g., consumer insights, people analytics). Others decide to further their education in graduate school.

For students who want a more focused area of study, we offer specialized tracks in Talent Development and Nonprofit and Community Leadership.  All majors also have the option of pursuing the Co-Op track.  For students opting for a different major, we also offer a minor in Organizational Leadership and certificates in Talent Development and Nonprofit and Community Leadership.

If you have questions about the Undergraduate ORGL Program, please contact Dr. Stacie Furst-Holloway at furstse@ucmail.uc.edu.

Warren G. Bennis (1997). “Managing People is Like Herding Cats”, Executive Excellence Pub