CNU Leadership Students Study at Oxford University and Sarum College
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Emily L. Lucier
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(NEWPORT NEWS, Va.) - Christopher Newport University offered LDSP 320, Leadership Through the Ages, at Harris Manchester College at Oxford University and Sarum College in Salisbury, U.K. this summer. The course was taught by CNU’s Dr. Bob Colvin, Associate Professor of Leadership Studies and Chair of the Department of Leadership and American Studies, Professor Sean Heuvel, an Instructor in Leadership and American Studies, and two Oxford scholars, Dr. Kathryn Beebe and Dr. Ralph Waller. In addition, the group met President Paul Trible and Rosemary Trible in London for three days to visit historical sites related to the British leaders being studied. CNU Dean of Admissions Patty Cavender accompanied the group on this trip.
The twelve CNU Leadership Studies students participating were Patrick Bryant, Stuart Farrand, Nathan Fesmire, Kasey Arnold, Bonnie Brown, Kathryn Campbell, Danielle Carroll, Justin Pritchett, Katy Sears, Andrea Van Hyning, Erin Wojtkun, and Cindy Watterson. The twelve students were selected from among the 500 students in CNU’s Leadership Studies program.
Oxford University, founded in the 12th century, is the oldest university in the English speaking world. Sarum College is located within the 13th century Salisbury Cathedral Close in Salisbury, UK. Dr. Colvin noted that many of the students, upon returning from the field visits, were researching in Harris Manchester’s library at Oxford on a number of evenings until the 11 p.m. closing time. “The academic environment at Oxford was inspiring and these outstanding students were eager to fully engage.” said Dr. Colvin. CNU Junior Kasey Arnold said it was an outstanding trip, “I learned so much about leadership and myself, it has resulted in a transforming change.” Another student, Andrea Van Hyning said “It was an amazing and memorable experience.” Katy Sears, CNU junior, said “this was the best class I have ever taken!” CNU senior, Justin Pritchett, said conducting research at Oxford’s Bodleian Library was “an extraordinary scholarly opportunity”.
The students analyzed the leadership of prominent British religious, political, and military figures from the 12th century to present and visited sites related to those leaders. For example, the group studied the leadership of Winston Churchill, viewed his birthplace inside Blenheim Palace, studied his heritage from the exhibits at the palace, and toured his cabinet’s underground war rooms in London. The professors held class on John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, in Oxford’s Lincoln College where Wesley taught. The class visited Christ Church College at Oxford where Saint Thomas Beckett studied. The dining hall inside Christ Church was used as the dining hall in the popular Harry Potter movies. The class studied the leadership of Lord Horatio Nelson and then toured the fully restored (1770) battleship HMS Victory at Portsmouth, UK, and viewed the spot where Nelson was mortally wounded by a French sniper in the Battle of Trafalgar. The group studied the leadership of Queen Elizabeth I and Margaret Thatcher and visited related sites in London. The class toured the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Salisbury Cathedral, Oxford Castle, Bath, and Stonehenge, among other sites.
Classes were held throughout the morning hours and field excursions occupied each afternoon. Students began their studies in preparation for this course early in the summer, culminating in the Oxford-Sarum trip. A significant theme of the course was analyzing the immediate, contemporary, and historical contexts that affected the opportunity to lead and the individual’s approach to leadership in that context.
Christopher Newport University is a four-year public university in Newport News, Virginia. CNU enrolls 4,800 students in programs through its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Luter School of Business and offers great teaching, small classes and an emphasis on leadership, civic engagement and honor. Visit us at www.cnu.edu.
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