The O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IU Indianapolis is launching a new degree program to help grow leaders across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. And it is the first new degree approved for IU Indianapolis.
The newly launched Community and Organizational Leadership Studies program offers a bachelor’s degree, minor, and certificate option. The IU Board of Trustees approved the degree path in spring of 2024 and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education gave it the green light in July 2024.
“This COLS program provides students with training that transcends job titles,” says O’Neill’s Associate Dean of Student Services and Enrollment Management Suzann Lupton. “Being able to lead effectively is a critical skill that is applicable in every sector of our society.”
O’Neill Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Leadership Programs Liz Wager spearheaded the launch of the new degree. She spent several years leading a similar undergraduate program and helped shepherd it—and many of its students—during the program’s transition to O’Neill.
She says the COLS program is a diverse degree that will carry students through the many stages of their careers, regardless of where they are within an organization.
“Leadership does not require a title or position of power,” she says. “It requires an understanding of how to influence others to become the positive change agents needed to navigate today’s complex public, political, and organizational challenges.”
To help students learn those lessons, the COLS bachelor’s degree is adding seven new courses to O’Neill Indianapolis’ roster:
- SPEA-L 121 Introduction to Organizational Leadership
- SPEA-L 327 Leadership for a Global Workforce
- SPEA-L 377 Foundations of Leadership
- SPEA-L 383 Coaching and Mentoring in Organizations
- SPEA-L 385 Leadership for Quality and Productivity
- SPEA-L 477 Leadership Applications
- SPEA-L 482 Leading through Change
The degree also includes a course— The Call to Public Service: History, Philosophy, Values, and Outcomes (SPEA-V 203)—taught by long-time Fishers Mayor and O’Neill alumnus Scott Fadness. Adding Fadness to the school’s adjunct faculty roster marks the first time a sitting mayor will teach at O’Neill Indianapolis.
For students who want to expand on their bachelor’s degree or enhance their existing knowledge and experience, the COLS program also offers a minor or certificate option. The minor adds an additional four new classes to O’Neill’s course offerings.
- SPEA-L 384 Employee Relations
- SPEA-L 386 Employment Planning and Processes
- SPEA-L 484 Foundations of Human Resource Development
- SPEA-L 486 Compensation and Benefits for HR Leaders
Wager says offering a degree, minor, and certificate expands the program’s relevance and appeal, increasing options for students whether they are working on a new degree, returning to college to complete a degree, or advancing in their current career through a certificate.
That flexibility is critical given the decline in traditional college students who move directly from high school into college, and an increase in professional students returning to finish what they may have started years before.
“Data sill indicates that while a mix of credentialing, specific training for technical tasks, and experiential learning can lead to good jobs, most adult employees without certifications or a college degree struggle to advance in their careers and improve their lives,” she explains.
The additional education and lessons in leadership expand the impact COLS students can have, allowing them to improve their organizations and communities as well. That’s one reason Lupton says the COLS program fits so well within O’Neill.
“The O’Neill School attracts students from all walks and phases of life who share a desire and passion to make a difference in the world,” Lupton says. “Whether that happens in a human resources job, the public policy sphere, or within a nonprofit, the new Community and Organizational Leadership Studies program provides a path for any student of any age to learn to lead where they are now and in the future.”
The COLS program is the sixth major available to undergraduate students at O’Neill Indianapolis, adding to the school’s existing Criminal Justice, Management and Civic Leadership, Public Policy, Public Safety Management, and Sustainable Management and Policy majors.
