Community and Organizational Leadership

Introduction to issues and questions of organizational leadership; differences between management and leadership; development of students' personal vision of leadership.

Introduction and overview of processes of fiscal leadership for community organizations. Questions of public finance and reporting.

Selected topics in economics chosen by the department in response to program need.

Selected topics in geography chosen by the department in response to program need.

Selected topics in public policy and community service chosen by the department in response to program need.

Selected topics in sociology chosen by the department in response to program need.

Best practices in the recruitment, training, appraisal, and retention of human resources within sustainable and diverse organizations. Understanding of employment law related to human resources; ways that leaders can build effective interpersonal relationships within organizations.

Quantitative and qualitative approaches to organizing, analyzing and interpreting data.

Leadership skills for developing philanthropic resources for communities and organizations. Effective identification, recruitment, and retention of donors, funding foundations, and volunteers. Planning, implementing, and supervising a range of fund development strategies.

Overview to the process of grant development, writing and administration. Identification of potential funding sources, understanding guidelines and the review process, grant-writing, developing realistic budgets, and packaging grant submissions.

Processes of ethical decision-making, balancing individual needs and goals with those of the community or organization. Legal ramifications of organizational questions and issues.

Strategic planning in communities and social sector organizations. Methods for effective evaluation, connecting strategic planning and evaluation with sustainability and capacity building of organizations, and with community health and vitality.

Building and transforming organizations focused on sustainable communities. Diagnosing community needs and assets, helping the community to determine priorities, prescribing mutually agreed-upon solutions and responses to diagnosed needs. Working with elected officials and appointed civil servants, reporting to and communicating with public officials.

Developing by-laws and applying for incorporation as a nonprofit organization, tax codes and state and federal policies governing nonprofit organizations. Approaches to governance, the responsibilities of boards of directors, the development of effective boards of directors, and the relationship between program staff, executive leadership, and governing boards. Integrating an organization's mission and values into all aspects of programming and fund development.

Linking organizational capacity and community capacity. Principles and processes of expanding the capacities of individuals and organizations for community leadership. Resource allocation and development, volunteer engagement and utilization. Increasing an organization's preparedness to plan, implementing a collaborative, integrated decision-making structure.

Public and internal communication skills and strategies to enhance and strengthen communities and social sector organizations. Communication with boards of directors, executive leadership, professional staff, volunteers, and external constituencies. Communicating in situations of conflict, negotiation skills, and means of maintaining effective communication lines under difficult circumstances. Various models of effective public relations strategies, community relations, and media relationships.

Organization, financing, and delivery of healthcare in the United States, contrasting private and public sectors, the effects of market competition and government regulation on healthcare policy and delivery. Ways that medical providers are paid and major issues currently facing physicians, hospitals, and the pharmaceutical industry.

Public policy issues associated with the organization, financing, and delivery of health services to vulnerable populations and safety net providers. Competitive market forces, financing, organizational subsidies, population factors, and federal, state, and local policies regarding health services.

Leadership development, human resources management, approaches to process improvement, and negotiating change in health services organizations. Case studies of application of concepts to improving productivity and health outcomes in hospitals, primary care organizations, and integrated delivery systems.

This seminar integrates the intellectual insights, civic tools, leadership skills, and understandings acquired through the Master's curriculum. It provides the organizational partner with a tangible product that expands its programming, increases organizational efficiency, or extends its mission. Public presentation of learning, with a paper and portfolio documenting the work accomplished through the M.A., integrating major themes, ideas, and insights of the course of study. Six semester hours.