Wright State’s online Master of Science in Leadership Development program develops leaders across all industries

Michael R. Roediger, director and CEO of the Dayton Art Institute, graduated from Wright State’s Master of Science in Leadership Development program. (Photo by Lisa Powell)

Wright State University’s Master of Science in Leadership Development (MSLD) program, designed to help practitioners develop critical leadership competencies for today’s workforce, is now fully online.

Corey Seemiller, interim program director, said that whether someone is a senior manager or an entry-level employee, developing one’s leadership capacity is valuable, both individually and for the organization.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda, 86% of senior executives surveyed believe there is a leadership crisis in the world today. And, the Center for Creative Leadership, a provider of executive education, believes today’s leadership capacity is insufficient to meet future leadership requirements.

“MSLD offers an opportunity to address this crisis by developing leaders who have the skills and capacities to make a positive contribution in their local organizations,” said Seemiller.

Michael R. Roediger, director and CEO of the Dayton Art Institute, said the program helped him take his career and leadership to the next level.

Corey Seemiller, interim program director of the Master of Science in Leadership Development program.

“I truly believe my leadership was born at Wright State as I discovered my passion for servant leadership and the type of leader I want to be for my colleagues, the Dayton Art Institute and our community,” he said.

Jason Farkas, an MSLD graduate, completed his thesis in 2016 by conducting focus groups of employers and students about their perceptions of the value of leadership education.

“In nearly universal agreement, employers and students concurred that leadership education could benefit employees and students from all career fields,” said Farkas. “Most participants felt that there was too little leadership education within their organizations.”

Students in the MSLD program come from diverse personal and professional backgrounds, including business, military, health care, education, government, nonprofits, manufacturing, retail, food service, sales, technology, banking and finance.

Amber Daniel, an alumna of the MSLD program, said it opened doors for her she didn’t think imaginable.

“I was able to become an adjunct professor, enter the doctoral program, begin crafting my consulting business, and the skills I earned in the program got me two academic publications and a novel,” she said.

Amber Daniel is an alumna of the Master of Science in Leadership Development program.

The courses in the MSLD program focus on individual, group and organizational leadership development. Students learn about collaboration and teaming, ethics and social justice, emotional intelligence, and training and coaching.

The MSLD program is now fully online, incorporating both synchronous and asynchronous learning to accommodate the personal and professional demands facing students.

“Our full-time faculty have been certified in Quality Matters to ensure that online course instruction is exceptional,” Seemiller said. “It was important that we made this program as accessible and flexible as possible, and offering it online allows us to do that.”

“I am filled with gratitude for the faculty and staff who were with me every step of the way to make sure I could balance my family, work and studies while growing emotionally and intellectually as a professional and leader,” Roediger said.