Leading the Way
A conversation with Dr. Sandra Peart, dean of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies
What made you apply to Jepson? Why did you want to become the dean here?
The prospect of leading a school devoted to teaching for and about leadership, a school that encourages students to lead lives of consequence, intrigued me.
Jepson's faculty and students were incredibly strong and had a reputation for being cutting edge in terms of both pedagogy and scholarship. I was excited about building the school into its mature phase, and I've done that.
As the founding faculty retired, we successfully recruited and retained incredible second and third waves of scholars and teachers. We also have increased the student body substantially, almost doubling in size.
We're an eclectic and multidisciplinary community, united by a common interest in exploring leadership as it manifested historically, as it functions within organizations and society today, and as it should be ideally.
The question of “to what end” is intimately bound up in our curriculum and scholarship. The creative energy at Jepson has always been palpable, and I enjoy being part of that.
What do you like about Jepson or what do you love about your job?
I like to build things, whether that means a more robust curriculum, a faculty of exceptional scholars, a larger student body, or, more recently, programs within the school. I love that we're constantly evolving to ensure our students graduate with the knowledge and skills to be the leaders of tomorrow.
We've recently strengthened our international connections. Leadership is ubiquitous. It knows no borders. The faculty had the foresight to add a key elective, Leadership in International Contexts, to the curriculum.
The study of leadership around the world has become a real strength of the school, through initiatives such as our Zuzana Simoniova Cmelikova Visiting International Scholar, supported through a generous gift from Robert (Bobby) and Jayne Ukrop.
Much of our current faculty’s scholarship relies on fieldwork in Bolivia, Namibia, Russia, France, and South Korea, with focuses on topics such as leadership in authoritarian regimes and the impact of social media and AI on political leadership.
I'm also energized by the Gary L. McDowell Institute, which we created in 2020 and named to honor a former faculty member at Jepson. Professor McDowell was devoted to the idea of free and respectful inquiry across political and ideological boundaries, and so it is fitting that the McDowell Institute welcomes faculty and students from across the University to share their diverse perspectives. In particular, the McDowell Institute Student Fellows Program convenes a group of intellectually curious students from all three undergraduate schools to engage in discussions across the ideological spectrum. In its inaugural year, eight students participated as student fellows. This year, faculty in Jepson, the School of Arts & Sciences, and the Robins School of Business are leading 58 McDowell Student Fellows in lively discussions.
With thanks to the financial support of Robert S. Jepson Jr. and the Jepson Scholars Foundation, we created the Jepson Scholars Program to send our graduates to the University of Oxford to pursue master’s degrees on full scholarships. Bob and I share a vision for the Jepson Scholars Program: students who couple their incredible undergraduate education in leadership studies with a master’s degree from one of the finest institutions in the world will most certainly be ready to change the world.
Although the program was nothing more than an idea in 2019, we've built it into an ongoing success. Fourteen Jepson School alumni have obtained master's degrees in programs as disparate as public policy, Latin American studies, and ecclesiastical history. Five Jepson alumni are enrolled in master’s programs at Oxford this year.
What is your goal for the school?
I want the school to continue to offer the best education in leadership studies and the faculty to be known as the best leadership scholars in the world. I want us to continue to innovate, to stay at the forefront of pedagogy and scholarship. I want our students to understand how and when to lead, serve, or follow. I want them to lead with purpose and confidence.
What do you want deans and executive leadership at peer institutions to know about Jepson?
Leadership at Jepson isn't an abstraction, but a way of life. A Jepson education is active, with students, alumni, and faculty taking on significant roles in public service and policy making and in their community. Whether they are public servants, policy advocates, or business leaders, our graduates understand that leadership is a process that begins with an exploration of purpose and ethics, listening, and discussion.
Lastly, what is leadership like in your home life? Wife, daughter, volunteer etc?
That's a tough one! I owe so much to my husband, Craig Heinicke, who has been the leader at home. I adored my mother, and I try to emulate her.
Imagination is key for me. The moral theorist Adam Smith developed the idea of the impartial spectator as a guide to being good. I place myself in another's shoes, imagine how the spectator would feel about my actions, and act so that the spectator would approve. I don't always succeed, but I find that's a good rule of thumb!