Community Leadership Model
Rochester’s Approach to Leadership
At Rochester, we understand leadership as a collaborative process through which individuals create change in their communities, regardless of whether they hold a position of authority. We believe that leadership can be learned through reflective experience and must be practiced to achieve competency and excellence.
Our programs are informed by the social change model of leadership, developed by the National Clearinghouse on Leadership Programs. Our programs also reference the leadership domains prioritized by the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education, which identifies the following desirable outcomes for leadership programs:
- Intellectual growth
- Effective communication
- Realistic self‐appraisal
- Enhanced self‐esteem
- Clarified values
- Career choices
- Leadership development
- Healthy behaviors
- Meaningful interpersonal relationships
- Independence
- Collaboration
- Social responsibility
- Satisfying and productive lifestyles
- Appreciation of diversity
- Spiritual awareness
- Achievement of personal and educational goals
We are committed to evaluating leadership outcomes for our students—globally, and on an individual and programmatic basis. We have participated in the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership on a triennial schedule since its inception in 2006.
The City of Rochester and the surrounding region provide a diverse and rich environment for leadership education at Rochester:
- The award-winning Rochester curriculum places freedom as a core value in undergraduate education, and invites students to pursue their passions and learn what they love.
- The co-curricular experience affords numerous opportunities for students to explore and identify their interests, and to form and test their commitments to various causes.
- The residential college system provides a rich campus environment for peer interaction and collaboration. Around 90 percent of students participate in campus organizations, and almost 50 percent participate in community service.
- Entrepreneurship is a focal point at Rochester, and students are encouraged to create and innovate, both in the classroom and in the community.
- International education is a hallmark of Rochester, and has been strengthened in recent years through increased enrollments of international students as well as participation in overseas study programs. This creates a dynamic environment in which to learn and exercise leadership across cultural differences.
- The City of Rochester provides a diverse and rich historical, cultural, and social context that informs and inspires undergraduate education at Rochester.
Underlying all of these aspects of leadership at Rochester are our communal principles: fairness, freedom, honesty, inclusion, respect, and responsibility. These are the shared values that form the pillars of undergraduate student life, and they are infused throughout our leadership programs.