Leadership & Society Initiative: Our Mission and Vision
The Leadership & Society Initiative empowers distinguished leaders to lead healthier, more engaged, and more impactful lives, making invaluable contributions long after their primary careers.
The meaning of retirement has changed dramatically in recent decades. People are more likely than ever to stay active and make important contributions for decades after the end of their primary careers. Increasingly, our most accomplished leaders don’t want to retire. They want to rewire.
We believe that highly experienced leaders are a massively under-utilized resource in our society. LSI activates the extraordinary potential of this talent pool for society. To start a new stage in life with a clear sense of purpose and a commitment to enduring wellness, these distinguished professionals need support, a community, and a plan. UChicago’s Leadership and Society Initiative helps Fellows find their path and take command of the next chapter in their lives.
“The Leadership and Society Initiative spoke to my very heart. The world is in a moment now where people from different sectors of the economy, people from different walks of life need to come together to think about how, not just our individual paths, but our collective paths can make a difference.”
Susan Hairston
LSI Fellow, Former Councilwoman of Summit, New Jersey, and CEO of Susan Hairston Consulting Group
The LSI Method
We built the LSI method on three learning pillars
Know Oneself
Understand the World
Envision the Future
These pillars are the foundation for a curriculum that helps Fellows identify a way forward that is authentic to their own identities and values as well as impactful for society. Through a yearlong fellowship in UChicago’s unparalleled environment of discovery and free expression, they envision and launch ambitious futures in which they become deeply involved in confronting the complex problems that will shape our society’s future.
In their courses, Fellows engage in discussions with faculty members who are eminent researchers and celebrated practitioners in business, philanthropy, journalism, and politics.
They examine topics through multiple disciplinary lenses and gain frameworks to reflect on their past experiences, discern their future purpose, analyze societal issues, and propose innovative strategies to solve complex problems.
Along the way, Fellows know they have the support structure in place to help them through the transition back to an academic setting and eventually into the next stage of their lives. They can find help from a writing advisor, the assistant program director, and most importantly, Next Chapter Advisors, selectively chosen to meet their individual needs and goals:
Academic Advisors
Executive Coach
Distinguished Mentor
Working with the Next Chapter Advisors on a capstone project, highly experienced professionals reimagine their sense of purpose. Writing this document gives them the chance to reflect on their personal strengths and values, identify goals, and describe how they intend to apply their talents in an area they are passionate about. Fellows create a compass for their own futures, pointing the way toward the personal fulfillment and well-being that can only come from staying intellectually engaged while doing work that makes an impact.
“We have an opportunity here to make big changes in society. When you think about the ripple effect of this year’s group of Fellows and next year’s group of Fellows – the cohort that we’re creating here at LSI will have impact on society for decades and decades to come.”
Barbara Stewart
LSI External Advisor, Former CEO, AmeriCorps, Co-Founder and Trustee, Bowe-Stewart Foundation
The Role of Place
LSI Fellows come to the University of Chicago not only because of the fellowship’s unique approach to reimagining midlife, but also because of its distinctive campus and community.
The culture of UChicago is fueled by untrammeled inquiry and free expression, affiliated with 101 Nobel Prize winners, cutting-edge researchers, and innovators in every discipline.
Coming to the storied campus, Fellows become deeply involved in this vibrant community. They form lasting bonds with their peers and faculty members through class discussions, hands-on immersions, team projects, social gatherings, and events. By auditing classes, Fellows also have opportunities to exchange ideas and perspectives across multiple generations, learning about and mentoring the next wave of leaders’ aspirations and concerns.
Just as importantly, life at the University is thoroughly intertwined with the bigger story of life in city of Chicago. It is a city with a long tradition of intellectual and cultural innovation, but also deeply ingrained social problems that demand attention and resources. By getting involved with projects by organizations such as the Obama Foundation and UChicago Urban Labs, Fellows gain hands on experience in using their talents to make a difference in critical issues as they form lasting relationships that will shape their accomplishments in the years ahead.
Fellows come out of their time at the UChicago Hyde Park campus as members of one of the world’s most distinguished and impact-driven cohorts. They have expanded their networks by collaborating with leaders, researchers, and practitioners facing some of society’s most urgent challenges. And most significantly, they have a roadmap to make significant contributions for many years after they have left their old office behind.
Is the Leadership and Society Initiative Right for You?
Attend an information session to learn how UChicago’s Leadership and Society Initiative helps accomplished leaders design their next chapter of purpose, impact, and connection.
Complete this self-reflective assessment to explore whether the UChicago Leadership and Society Initiative could be the right pathway into your next chapter of purpose.
Susan HairstonLSI Fellow, Former Councilwoman of Summit, New Jersey, and CEO of Susan Hairston Consulting Group
