Specially developed leadership courses, public policy symposiums, prominent guest speakers and civic events are a testament to the work of the Institute for Principled Leadership in Public Service.
In 2007, Bradley University and The Dirksen Congressional Center launched the Institute for Principled Leadership in Public Service (IPL) on the campus of Bradley University. IPL’s mission is to become nationally recognized in developing ethical, bipartisan and civil leaders for successful careers in public service. Indeed, many Bradley alumni like Bob Michel, Ray LaHood and Aaron Schock have modeled this kind of leadership.
Most of us would agree that both our state and our country could use more principled leaders in the public service arena. At Bradley University, leadership development is a core value, in concert with academic excellence and experiential learning. So how does IPL develop its students to become principled public service leaders, promote civic engagement, and be a positive force for good government in our nation, state and region? Here are a few highlights of our activities.
Academics
Through the Leadership Studies minor, IPL teaches undergraduate courses on Bipartisan Leadership, Ethical Leadership, Leadership and Advocacy, and Servant Leadership. We bring in a wide range of elected officials to our classes as guest speakers that model the kind of ethical, bipartisan, civil leadership we seek to instill. Unfortunately, this generation of students has mostly seen partisan bickering and negative behavior in politics. It is truly great to see the lights go on that there is a different, far more effective approach. At Bradley University, we are preparing a new generation of leaders that can help turn government in a much better direction.
National Public Policy Symposiums
Each year, IPL holds national public policy symposiums (endowed by The Dirksen Congressional Center) on the hot topics of the day. To date, the Institute has brought national (three U.S. Cabinet members), state and regional experts to discuss healthcare, energy, transportation, education and agriculture. The goal of these symposiums is to explore bipartisan solutions and recommendations for public policy implementation. Bradley students get to introduce notable speakers and make their own presentations on the research projects they are doing in class. Hundreds of Bradley students have attended the symposiums and benefited from their interaction with distinguished public service leaders. Community leaders and the public have also joined Bradley students in attending IPL events and filling our audiences to capacity.
Promoting Civic Engagement
IPL works with the College Democrats, College Republicans and Students Promoting Political Involvement on campus to encourage Bradley students to actively participate in our democracy. On September 7, 2012, IPL will host a statewide political rally at the Renaissance Coliseum to inspire civic engagement and civil public discourse for college students across Illinois for the upcoming election. We are inviting a great list of national, state and regional speakers to this event. And, we will register hundreds of college students to vote.
Promoting Good Government
IPL has been a leading advocate for ethics reform in Illinois by pushing for sweeping changes to our redistricting process and meaningful campaign finance reform. We will continue to partner with other good government groups in Illinois until the job is accomplished. IPL has also collaborated with the City of Peoria and Peoria County on exploring shared public services and changing the cumulative voting system. Additionally, IPL has worked closely with Peoria Public School District 150 and the Heart of Illinois United Way in the Full Service Community Schools initiative. IPL helped secure hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to assist Peoria’s public schools and the students and parents they serve.
Five-Year Celebration
On April 27th, IPL will host an anniversary reception at the beautiful new Peplow Pavilion in the new Hayden Clark Alumni Center. If you believe in the mission of IPL, we hope you will attend and support our worthwhile activities. You can also become a friend of IPL by visiting our webpage at ipl.bradley.edu. Significant political change will take time and persistence. We believe IPL and the student leaders that Bradley University produces can bring a brighter future to our country, state and region. iBi
