Seton Hall Leadership Institute

About the Institute

Mission

Provide a competitively-selected cohort of undergraduate leaders with a comprehensive, four-year, leadership development certificate program (non-credit bearing) that includes:

A cross-disciplinary, foundational understanding of leadership principles focused on how to lead yourself, teams, and organizations.
Experiential opportunities designed to apply leadership theory and concepts in practice.
Professional coaching certified by the International Coaching Federation and mentorship from Institute leadership, industry leaders in their respective fields, and a network of Seton Hall graduates starting their own careers.
Exposure to cutting-edge peak performance psychology techniques to help students perform at their best when the pressure is the highest.

Contact Us

Address:
Seton Hall Buccino Leadership Institute
Seton Hall University
Second Floor, Schwartz Hall
400 South Orange Avenue
South Orange, NJ 07079-2692
Telephone: (973) 761-9103
Email: buccinoinstitute@shu.edu

Leadership Team

Executive Director: Stanton Brown, Ph.D.

Director of Undergraduate Programs: Elizabeth V. Halpin, M.A.; Barbara Callahan, M.B.A.

Assistant Director: Staysha Taylor, B.A.

Program Specifics

The comprehensive, four-year program is designed to provide selected Seton Hall undergraduate students with the leadership skills needed to succeed in today’s world. The program is unique in that students first learn about themselves and the fundamental concepts of leadership in a cross-disciplinary environment with students from across the university. Buccino Leadership Institute students learn about the pillars of leadership that our graduates need to excel in their respective fields when they leave Seton Hall. Combining this foundational understanding of leadership, along with professional, certified leadership coaching, ensures our graduates have a leg up on their contemporaries in the job market and positions them to make meaningful contributions in whatever field they pursue.

General 4-year Structure

Freshman – Leading Yourself

During the first year at Seton Hall, students in the Leadership Institute’s program will spend the majority of their time as a university cohort comprised of students from all across campus. They will focus on arguably the most important aspect of leadership – leading yourself. In doing so, they will learn about their individual strengths and weaknesses, personality traits, and ultimately their preferred leadership style through industry-standard tools and assessments, guest lectures, and field trips. Buccino Leadership Institute faculty will introduce them to the pillars of leadership. Additionally, students will work in interdisciplinary teams on a semester-long project.

Sophomore – Leading Others

After receiving a better understanding of themselves and the principles of leadership in the first year, students in the Leadership Institute program will focus on leading others in the second year. In addition to reinforcing and applying the pillars of leadership, the faculty will introduce students to leadership theory, organizational behavior, and critical concepts of culture, power, motivation, and influence. Students will understand how to motivate, inspire, and lead others in dynamic organizations. They will apply these concepts through the Ideas and Trends interdisciplinary team projects where they will learn to face uncertainly and disruption and build resilience.

Junior – Experiential Learning Pathways

Here students will have the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned in challenging and rewarding career development focused activities, receive mentorship from junior and senior professionals in their field, and participate in interdisciplinary leadership opportunities leading their peers. Each student will receive professional, ICF-certified leadership coaching in the second semester.

Senior – Experiential Learning Pathways

Seniors will have the opportunity to challenge themselves with enriching opportunities to lead their peers and underclassmen in various initiatives in and outside the university. Students will have the opportunity to participate in projects which serve as the capstone of their leadership experience. Finally, seniors will participate in end-of-program assessments to improve the program moving forward.

Program Activities/Experiences

Professional coaching – each leadership student will receive one-on-one sessions from a professional coach with experience working with undergraduate students. These sessions will help identify strengths/weaknesses and help the student reflect and apply leadership lessons to their undergraduate endeavors.
Guest speaker program – a combination of thought leaders and experienced executives in various fields as well as young professionals at the start of their careers.
Field trips – faculty-led field trips to inspire, motivate, and educate our leadership students about leadership in the “real” world. Examples include the National 9/11 Museum and Memorial and Washington, D.C.
Mentorship – students will receive mentorship from older students in the program, Buccino Leadership Institute faculty, young professionals in their future field, and more senior professionals who are where our students want to be.

Selection and Retention Requirements

Students can apply to the Leadership program before their freshmen or sophomore years. The application and criteria are available on the Buccino Leadership Institute website. GPA and leadership experience and potential are weighed. Leadership students are required to maintain in good standing with the university and sustain a standard GPA. Enrollment in the leadership program is a privilege – students may be removed from the program due to lack of participation, poor performance, or inappropriate conduct.