SAGU Introduces Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership
SAGU’s Board of Regents recently approved a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership within the Harrison School of Graduate Studies. Dr. Jim McCorkle will coordinate the program. Implementation of the program is scheduled for Spring 2011.
The 36-credit program will prepare leaders from a broad range of institutional settings to impact positively their organizations and communities. As other graduate degrees offered at SAGU, this program equips students to fulfill the mission of the university through increased professional and ministerial effectiveness and preparation for future academic training.
“A master’s degree in Organizational Leadership aims to strengthen church leadership in North America, while at the same time reaching out to disaffected professionals,” Dr. Jim McCorkle commented. “It will offer an ordered, integrated and developmentally appropriate method for training and re-equipping leaders.”
According to McCorkle, “The focus of the program and the anticipated result is transformation – transformation that can make better, more effective and dynamic leaders, and inspire them to stay in vital leadership positions longer – so they can fulfill their God-given calling, for themselves and for others.”
The curriculum of the program blends the exploration of conceptual and theoretical aspects and models of leadership in the context of present and past leaders with key concepts pertaining to leadership within organizations. Courses within the program include Energizing People for Performance, Reinventing Leadership: A Breakthrough Approach, Biblical Servant Leadership, Foundations of Leadership, and Strategic Thinking, Planning & Organizational Change.
Upon completion of the degree, graduates should be able to identify and strategize for the development of their unique personalities, gifts and assets within a framework of servant leadership; demonstrate leadership knowledge, capabilities, and characteristics needed to impact positively the church or marketplace; and create a dynamic plan to manage personal and professional growth.
