Work in progress — Engineering Leadership Program: A thematic learning community

The Engineering Leadership Program, which began at Iowa State University in 2006 as a four year pilot leadership development program for undergraduate engineering students, is now working on mainstreaming the program. It has evolved into a student-led co-curricular leadership learning community with a strong focus on service and community, and is serving as a model for other holistic-themed learning communities in the college. A new scholars program in the college based on the Engineer of 2020 has four learning pillars, including leadership, and was created using the Engineering Leadership Program as a model. Planning is underway on strategies to mainstream best practices from the pilot and the optimal channels to deliver them. The learning outcomes assessment of the program is a work in progress. The first cohort entered in 2006 and graduates in 2010, and their early career accomplishments will be one indicator of longer term program impact.