The 2011 Conference in Review
On Sunday, October 16, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire hosted the fifth annual uWEc LEAD Leadership Conference, welcoming students from Chippewa Valley Technical College, UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stout. More than 150 students attended the leadership development opportunity, with the two highest populations being seniors (27%) and sophomores (21%).
The free half-day program in Davies Center featured presenters from all participating institutions, including two dozen student presenters from UW-Eau Claire. Topics included leading with integrity, earning media coverage for student organizations, making the most of your advisor, increasing teamwork, stress management, developing cross-cultural communication skills, dealing with difficult group members, exploring social activism, entering the professional workforce, and a student affairs panel discussion.
The conference opened with a keynote address by Ed Deutschlander, CEO-elect for North Star Resource Group in Minneapolis. Deutschlander discussed leadership principles for emerging and experienced leaders and how they can be applied to different environments and groups. After his formal address he participated in a breakout session that also featured three UW-Eau Claire alumni.
In the evaluation survey, students were asked to comment on the overall experience.
- "Very enlightening and great experience. Looking forward to next year's."
- "It was an amazing experience! I would recommend it to anyone, but especially freshmen and sophomores."
- "I thought it was a very worthwhile experience, especially since I'm about to graduate and go work in the industry."
- "Reinforced my positive attitude and gave me more skills to work with."
The 2012 conference will be held in October in the new Davies Center. Sponsors of the uWEc LEAD Leadership Conference are the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, College of Education and Human Sciences, College of Nursing and Health Services, the UW-Eau Claire Foundation and the University Centers.
