Nonprofit Leadership
The Nonprofit Leadership Program is an interdisciplinary program housed in the Department of Business and Nonprofit Studies and is designed to prepare students for effective leadership in a wide variety of non-profit organizations. The program draws from a broad array of liberal arts and professional courses selected to equip students with the critical thinking, communication, and servant leadership skills needed for a successful professional career. The program includes an internship and capstone research experience that will provide students with focused, practical experience in a setting of their choosing.
Majors and Minors
Major Minor
B.A. in Nonprofit LeadershipCourses
This course provides an introduction to nonprofit organizations and the roles of leaders as they develop and manage people and programs, interacting with governing boards, paid and volunteer staffs, and government and private funding agencies. Through exploration of organization models, case study analysis of both domestic and global mission-based enterprises, and engagement with leaders in the local community, students will learn strategies for effectively leading non-profit organizations.
Introduction to Poverty Studies exposes students to the causes and effects of poverty, and allows them to begin thinking about how they can help alleviate it. Readings and discussions will encourage students’ understanding of how disciplines can come together to help eradicate poverty, increase their understanding of what it means to be poor in both the U.S. and globally, and begin to think of solutions to complex problems.
This course is designed to prepare nonprofit majors to interact effectively with governmental organizations. Students will discuss advocacy, evaluate programs and outcomes, learn about funding sources, and discover the importance of local and state budgeting to nonprofits.
This course represents a unique opportunity for a qualified student to expand his or her understanding of the practical applications of nonprofit operations by entering into a specific “help-rendered learning accomplishment” contract with a cooperating area enterprise. The contract will specifically identify the student’s obligations and duties, the nature and extent of the host enterprise’s commitment to assist the student in further extending his or her knowledge of enterprise operations, and the basis on which the student’s learning accomplishments will be measured. No more than 6 credit hours may be applied toward the student’s graduation requirements. Prerequisites: Nonprofit Leadership major with demonstrated superior capabilities and prior approval of the internship contract by department faculty.
A directed study normally taken in the fall of the senior year. The student should choose a project director from within the Nonprofit Leadership faculty and work with this director to refine a topic in the semester prior to which the student enrolls for the course. Prerequisite: Senior Nonprofit Leadership major