The Qualities We Expect in Our Leaders

It seems the past week or two, I have spent an inordinate amount of time on the road going back and forth across the state. The four-hour drive has seemed much shorter while listening to a satellite radio channel devoted to the presidential election. I've never been much of a political junkie, but I have enjoyed following the various campaigns over this channel.

As I reflect on what I've been hearing, I would say Americans are looking for a candidate who possesses great vision, strong leadership skills, and sufficient experience and accomplishments to lead our nation. The only problem is that in many people's minds, the candidates fall short on one or more of the desired traits. With the constant scrutiny and dissection of every statement or stand one has ever taken, I am not sure anyone could meet our expectations.

This has led me to consider how we prepare our students to stand up in the world. At Avila, we want our students to develop strong leadership skills, have advanced knowledge in their chosen disciplines along with a solid foundation in the liberal arts, and gain experience sufficient to enable them to succeed in their professions. We want our graduates to be people of vision who are inspired by their own sense of values and a moral compass grounded in their faith that enables them to act rightly. We want them to be insightful and well integrated, capable of living a thoughtful and balanced life. We want them to build effective work teams, relate well with diverse individuals and call on the gifts and talents of each. Thus, we expect that they are inclusive. We want to prepare them to be creative thinkers who are innovative and can lead change. And, we want them to be people of influence in their work and their world.

I think our graduates possess great vision, strong leadership, and experience such that they could meet the high expectations we hold for those who will lead this nation.