About the Leadership Institute

Mission: The Leadership Institute, established by Diversity and Multicultural Affairs in 2005, seeks to develop future leaders by bringing together undergraduate students from historically underserved populations with leaders in business, non-profit organizations and higher education for an experiential program of learning and discovery. The Institute is dedicated to preparing students to work and serve, live and learn and give and support, in order to help Carolina contribute capable and competent citizens for the global workforce.

Background: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has a longstanding commitment to providing quality leadership programming for undergraduate students. The Leadership Institute was created to address the increasing demand from graduate programs, non-profit agencies and major corporations to recruit outstanding undergraduates from under-served populations with stellar leadership skills. The program is designed to provide experiential learning and leadership opportunities for high achieving undergraduate students from historically underserved, low income and first generation college-going populations through a series of group presentations, networking exchanges, hands-on project development, interactive workshops and public speaking sessions. The Leadership Institute Program is designed for sophomores and juniors; the Leadership Advantage Program is designed for first year students.

Benefits of LI:

• Students: The Leadership Institute offers you the chance to form direct connections to businesses and business professionals as they develop practical, marketable skills and enhance your qualifications for great internships and post-graduation employment. You will develop and improve leadership, critical thinking and communication skills, all while participating in exciting hands-on projects and interactive business simulation experiences.
• Business, Non-Profit and Higher Education Leaders: The Leadership Institute offers you the opportunity to develop direct relationships with outstanding undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds. You may also have a chance to contribute key content to the LI curriculum, lead individual sessions and consult with students on leadership and career development.

Student Eligibility:

• For the Leadership Advantage: First year students with any major who are full-time UNC undergraduate students, members of an underserved population* and seek to develop their leadership skills. We recommend that students have a 2.7 or higher GPA.
• For the Leadership Institute: Sophomores or Juniors with any major who are a full-time UNC undergraduate students, members of an underserved population* and have previous engagement in co-curricular activities. We recommend that students have a 2.7 or higher GPA (Sophomores) or 3.0 or higher GPA (Juniors).

*Underserved populations include African American, Hispanic/Latino/a, American Indian, Asian American and other students from historically underserved, low income and first generation college-going populations.

Program Support:

The Leadership Institute (LI) is offered by UNC's Diversity and Multicultural Affairs with the support of the following partners, sponsors and contributors:
Founding Partners:
Sponsors:
Supporters:
Learn more about how your business, organization or program can support the Leadership Institute.
Contact | If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Terri Houston at 919-843-6086.