This course is designed to provide a basic introduction to inclusive leadership and community development by focusing on what it means to be a good leader who facilitates community development. Emphasis in the course is on the practice of leadership. The course will examine topics such as: understanding leadership, recognizing leadership traits, engaging people’s strengths, understanding philosophy and styles, attending to tasks and relationships, developing community leadership skills, creating a vision, establishing a constructive community climate, listening to out‐group members, handling conflict, addressing ethics in community leadership, overcoming obstacles, and ensuring inclusion of racial and disability justice frameworks in various community leadership approaches. Students will assess their leadership traits and skills to improve their own leadership performance.

Being a successful community leader requires the ability to understand and respond effectively to organizational context. This course provides a comprehensive understanding of organizations with emphasis on various approaches to organizational development. Specific focus will be placed on the workplace structure in educational, government, non-profit, and entrepreneurial environments. Finally, students will learn about methods that organizations use for accessibility and learn about organizational racial justice and disability justice.

This course will introduce historical and current issues regarding leadership and the Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HH) community. Students will learn about D/HH leaders in the Deaf community over the years, examine movements that have impacted the lives of D/HH individuals, and finally, learn about influential organizations of, by, and for D/HH individuals.

This course includes an overview of the current trends in community development and leadership. Content includes best practices and topics for community development and leadership, as well as pertinent laws, policies, resources and information. Students will participate in and critique a designated set of lectures, roundtable discussions and presentations on topics covering current trends in community development and inclusive leadership. The goal is to engage students in discussion of current trends with their peers and with experts in the field.

The experiential learning (EL) requirement may be fulfilled through a variety of methods, such as co-op, undergraduate research, summer research experiences, study abroad relevant to the major, or another activity approved by the experiential learning coordinator.

Students will conclude their study in the LEAD program by developing a professional portfolio and proposing an area for further examination. The research proposal will investigate current issues in community development and inclusive leadership. Applying knowledge gained from their coursework and their completed experiential learning opportunity, students will develop, write, and present a research proposal. Students will also prepare themselves for future employment and/or continued education at the graduate level by designing a professional e- portfolio. This document will allow students to demonstrate the range of activities and assignments they have undertaken in the LEAD degree program.

Writing Seminar is a three-credit course limited to 19 students per section. The course is designed to develop first-year students’ proficiency in analytical and rhetorical reading and writing, and critical thinking. Students will read, understand, and interpret a variety of non-fiction texts representing different cultural perspectives and/or academic disciplines. These texts are designed to challenge students intellectually and to stimulate their writing for a variety of contexts and purposes. Through inquiry-based assignment sequences, students will develop academic research and literacy practices that will be further strengthened throughout their academic careers. Particular attention will be given to the writing process, including an emphasis on teacher-student conferencing, critical self-assessment, class discussion, peer review, formal and informal writing, research, and revision. Small class size promotes frequent student-instructor and student-student interaction. The course also emphasizes the principles of intellectual property and academic integrity for both current academic and future professional writing.