The Leadership Institute at Harvard College (LIHC) is the largest student-run leadership training and development organization at Harvard College, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 2005, the Leadership Institute hosts high-profile speakers, organizes skill development workshops and forums, and publishes the annual Harvard Undergraduate Leadership Magazine. LIHC is the umbrella organization for four integrated programs: the Leadership Development Initiative (LDI), the Presidents' Forum (TPF), the Harvard Undergraduate Leadership Magazine (HULM) and the LIHC-Citizen Schools Youth Outreach Initiative.
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Founded in 2005 by four Harvard undergraduates, LIHC was established in response to the lack of leadership development resources available to Harvard College students. More recently, in September 2008, LIHC announced its definition of leadership: "the skill of motivating, guiding and empowering a team towards a socially responsible vision." The Leadership Institute is guided by an Executive Board of eight undergraduates and a Board of Advisors drawn from Harvard Business School, the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Law School, as well as government and corporate institutions. Members of the 2011 Executive Board are:
| Position | Member | |
|---|---|---|
| President | Karen Ding | |
| Vice Presidents | Eric Michel & Reid McCann | |
| Director of External Relations | Pooja Venkatraman | |
| Director of LDI | Kara Kubarych | |
| Director of TPF | Peter Chen | |
| Managing Editor of HULM | Linxi Wu | |
| Director of Social Outreach | Brianne Holland-Stergar | |
Members of the Board of Advisors (as of September 2011) are:
| Adam Berlin |
| Andrea Berlin |
| Jennifer Cho |
| George Davies |
| Grace Hou |
| Hermioni Lokko |
| Matthew McKnight |
| Jerry Murphy |
| William Niebling |
| Tiffany Niver |
| Meghan Pasricha |
| Christina Riechers |
| Nabihah Sachedina |
| Emily Slota |
| Aly Spencer (Chairperson) |
| Meghan Pasricha |
| Mike Trejo |
| Regan Turner |
The Leadership Development Initiative (LDI) hosts skill-building workshops (the Skills Development Series) and speaker events with veteran leaders (Biography Speaker Series) to connect undergraduates with exemplary role models. Speakers are drawn from all sectors, including business, civil service, non-profit, social entrepreneurship and healthcare. LIHC conducts surveys to determine the specific leadership training needs at Harvard College, and tailors its workshops to satisfy these needs, such as ethical decision-making in difficult situations, public speaking, negotiation and persuasion, leadership in entrepreneurship, dealing with organizational change, and facing competition with integrity.
In the past, LDI has hosted:
• Ray Mabus, United States Secretary of the Navy and former Mississippi Governor • John Clarkeson, former CEO and Chairman of Boston Consulting Group • Tom Monahan, CEO and Chairman of The Corporate Executive Board Company • David Gergen, Director of the Center for Public Leadership and adviser to presidents for over 30 years • Bill Drayton, CEO and Founder of Ashoka • Lewis B. Kaden, Vice Chairman of Citigroup
• Seth Moulton, Marine Corps veteran in Iraq, Special Assistant to General Petraeus
• Rye Barcott, Founder and President of international NGO Carolina for Kibera
• Tad Hutcheson, Vice President of Marketing of AirTran Airways
• Fred Swaniker, Co-Founder and CEO of the African Leadership Academy
• Alan Khazei, Co-Founder and former CEO of City Year
• Jim Mongan, President and CEO of Partners HealthCare, former President of the Massachusetts General Hospital
LDI has also hosted workshops on Public Speaking, Sales, Negotiations, Managing Organizational Transitions, Building an Effective Team Culture, Effective Delegation, Organizational Sustainability and Growth, Elevator Pitches, and Using Your Emotions as you Negotiate.
The Presidents' Forum (TPF) brings together the Presidents, Managing Editors and Captains of Harvard's student organizations and Varsity sports teams in bi-monthly discussion forums and an annual banquet (the President's Banquet). The Presidents' Banquet is the largest gathering of student leaders at Harvard College, and enables student leaders to learn from each others' experiences and establish life-long friendships and correspondences. Past keynote speakers of the Banquet include:
• Carl Hobert, Founder and Executive Director of Axis of Hope Center for Conflict Resolution and Prevention
• Bill George, HBS Professor of Management Practice, author of True North, and former CEO of Medtronic, Inc.
• Abigail Levy, McKinsey innovations expert
The annual Harvard Undergraduate Leadership Magazine (HULM) was inaugurated in 2008 with the intention of empowering students to examine leadership through multiple perspectives and to construct their own conceptions of what it means to be a true leader. The full-color publication features articles on leadership skills as well as interviews and biographies. The magazine has a circulation of 1000. Featured leaders include:
In 2009, LIHC began an experimental youth outreach program, targeting at-risk middle school students in the Boston area. This program, a partnership with the nationally renowned Citizen Schools program, aims to provide pertinent leadership skills for youth. The program has now expanded to 3 schools and hopes to expand in the future.
LIHC spearheads a number of special initiatives to expand its impact at and beyond Harvard.
In August 2011, LIHC held the YOUth Lead the Change summer camp for high school students.
In January 2011, LIHC helped lead the Freshman Leadership Initiative.
Additionally, the Leadership Institute in July 2009 announced they had received a grant from the Flora Family Foundation to promote leadership resources both at Harvard University and the broader community.
Partnership with the Ivy Council
The Leadership Institute works with the Ivy Council to facilitate a coordinated response to the leadership challenges faced by all eight Ivy League schools.
Ivy Leadership Summit XII
In the 2011-2012 school year, LIHC and the Ivy Council will host the Ivy Leadership Summit which brings together student leaders from all eight Ivy League schools.