About the ELP
The Engineering Leadership Program (ELP)
is a 4-year co-curricular, program at ISU that creates a
values-based learning community of engineering students
committed to making a difference in the world. Student
leadership in program development and implementation is
a key element of the program.The mission of ELP is to create an environment for
the leaders of tomorrow to realize their full potential
and to recognize their responsibility to make the world a
better place.
In the first year of the program the primary focus is to create a sense of
community and shared purpose through a series of structured activities, which
include a teambuilding retreat, weekly leadership seminar, peer mentor/faculty
mentor programs, and a Service Learning Project, all providing incremental steps
towards leadership development. In year two and beyond the scholars envision a
long term Leadership Learning Project (LLP) to work on for the remainder of
their time on campus. Each project is conceptualized by the scholars to fit
their personal passions and learning goals, with attention to the key values of
altruism and community impact. Through LLP each scholar gets the opportunity to
practice all aspects of leadership learning.
Upon graduation each ELP scholar will be prepared with a
unique combination of technical and leadership skills to
face a heavily technology dependent society and play
visible roles in public leadership and policy making.
The ELP is one component of a broader
Engineering Leadership and Policy Institute
within the College of Engineering whose purpose is to
encourage students, faculty, and staff to develop their
leadership skills and become engaged in the formulation
of public policy especially related to technology.
A generous gift from the Minnesota based 3M Corporation
provided funding for the ELP. The first twelve 3M
Leadership Scholars were selected in spring 2006, and a
cohort of seventeen first year students entered into the
program in fall 2006, as the 3M Leadership Scholars of
2010.
The second cohort
of 15 students started in Fall 2007. With additional
funding from corporate (Rockwell Collins, Caterpillar,
Boeing) and private donors each year, ELP continues to
grow.