Release Date: Monday, March 12, 2001

TERRY COLLEGE'S INSTITUTE FOR LEADERSHIP ADVANCEMENT RECEIVES $4 MILLION GIFT FROM BRADLEY-TURNER FOUNDATION OF COLUMBUS

ATHENS, Ga. — A $4 million gift from the Bradley-Turner Foundation of Columbus, Ga., will fund an endowed faculty chair and two new student programs in the Institute for Leadership Advancement at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business.

The gift is the second largest ever made to the Terry College - second only to the endowment given by C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry in 1990. The Bradley-Turner gift brings total pledges and contributions for the leadership institute to more than $6 million.

Half the gift will endow the Synovus Chair in Servant Leadership, a new faculty position to be held by a scholar of national prominence in leadership research. The chair is named for Synovus Financial Corp., the Columbus-based financial services company, in honor of its servant leadership culture and recognition by Fortune magazine as one of "The 100 Best Companies to Work For."

The remaining $2 million will support two undergraduate programs in leadership: the Leadership Scholars Program and the UnderGraduate Advancement (UGA) in Leadership Program. The scholars program will be an intensive leadership assessment and development program for up to 50 students selected from the Terry College. The other student program will provide all UGA undergraduates with an opportunity to learn academically based leadership concepts and practices through online teaching tools, a speaker series, recommended reading list, and culminating in an academic certificate program in personal leadership.

"This gift from the Bradley-Turner Foundation will make it possible for our undergraduate students to fulfill their leadership potential," said Terry College Dean P. George Benson. "Our leadership programs and the work of our faculty in the Institute for Leadership Advancement will be models for leadership education in U.S. business schools. And in the best tradition of servant leadership, the long-term benefits to the business community and to the citizens of the state of Georgia will be many, many times greater than the generous investment made by the Bradley-Turner Foundation."

The Institute for Leadership Advancement (ILA), approved last May by the Board of Regents, is directed by management professor Christine Riordan, who said the first installment of the $2 million commitment to student programs will enable the institute to select its first class of leadership scholars this spring. Rising juniors in the Terry College who are accepted into the program will begin next fall and stay with the program until graduation.

"The Leadership Scholars Program will provide highly individualized leadership development for our students. We will assess their existing leadership skills and then work with each student on a leadership development action plan," Riordan said. "Our purpose is to develop the skills we think are necessary for effective leadership. This is a phenomenal opportunity for students to combine the functional knowledge of their majors with critical leadership skills."

The Bradley-Turner gift also supports the "UGA" (UnderGraduate Advancement) Leadership Program, which will be administered by the ILA and offered to all UGA undergraduates. Riordan said the open program will offer any student interested in leadership development the following options beginning this fall: a recommended leadership curriculum and reading list; self-directed Web-based assessment tools and non-credit courses; a leadership speaker series; and participation in Volunteer Dawg service activities. In 2002, the ILA plans to offer an undergraduate certificate program in leadership, consisting of two required courses and three electives.

The ILA now has pledges totaling more than $6 million toward its endowment. Last year, UGA alumni Bebe and Earl Leonard pledged $2 million to the Leadership Scholars Program, which will bear their names. Earl Leonard has served since 1999 as a Distinguished Executive-in-Residence in the Terry College.

The gifts received so far by the leadership institute have been committed to the two undergraduate programs, which are among five separate programs the ILA plans to implement over the next few years. The institute will be soliciting support for: an MBA leadership program to expand leadership assessment and development activities within the Terry MBA program; an executive leadership program to provide continuing educational opportunities to managers to enhance their leadership skills, and a research consortium led by faculty and corporate partners who will promote and disseminate research on effective leadership practices.

"We are staking our reputation at the Terry College on developing leaders for the world's private enterprise system," Benson said. "The business community and society need more and better leaders, and we are moving aggressively here and now to meet that need through our undergraduate students. We're also going to expand the Terry College's role in leadership development in graduate education and executive programs. The Institute for Leadership Advancement is central to the vision that will guide and redefine the Terry College over the next decade. We're thankful to the Bradley-Turner Foundation for making these first critical steps in our transformation possible."

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