Thank you for your interest in the Presidential Leadership Scholars program.

PROGRAM AND APPLICATION OVERVIEW

Presidential Leadership Scholars (PLS) brings together bold and principled leaders who are committed to facing critical challenges and interested in exploring lessons learned during the administrations of George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson. We are looking for people who have the desire and capacity to build upon their strengths to improve people’s lives.

THE SUCCESSFUL APPLICANT 

The program assembles a unique and diverse cohort of high-potential leaders. Scholars most successful in the program, share certain characteristics:

• Civically minded: Seeks to make a positive impact.
• Openness to feedback: Seeks, mindfully accepts, and actively responds to assessments of their behavior and performance.
• Acceptance of diverse points of view: Welcomes opportunities to interact with and learn from others with different backgrounds or perspectives.
• Willingness to collaborate: Invites others to participate in addressing problems or pressing issues.
• Meaningful professional experience: Has breadth and depth of professional experience -- typically 10+ years -- and will build on the PLS experience for years to come.
• Record of demonstrated leadership: Presents an established record of engagement and leadership. (PLS is not an introductory course in leadership.) 
• Commitment to the program: Can fully participate in a rigorous and intense six-month program.

APPROACH TO LEADERSHIP 

The PLS program challenges participants to develop their leadership skills in an environment in which individuals’ experiences are seen as strengths and are respected, supported, and valued. Within this welcoming and inclusive climate, Scholars are expected to do the following both in and out of the program: 

• Engage in deep reflection about their personal leadership development, including acknowledging habits of exclusion and creating new habits of inclusion.
• Commit to meaningful interactions with others whose life experiences and perspectives are different than their own, even if those interactions are uncomfortable. 
• Include diverse perspectives in the framing of challenges and consideration of responses.  
• Work to ensure the full participation of others in addressing concerns or pressing issues. 
• Seek understanding with others, especially when they disagree. 

2025 PROGRAM SCHEDULE 

Program participants are required to attend an onboarding webinar, all six modules and fully participate in all module activities. All expenses, including housing, meals, and domestic travel during the sessions are provided by the program at no cost to the Scholars. Please note that due to geographical limitations, Scholars may need to travel the day before a module in order to arrive in time for the start of the session.

• Onboarding Webinar via Zoom: January 8, 2025 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM (CT)
• Module One: January 29 – February 1, 2025
• Module Two: February 27 – March 1, 2025
• Module Three: March 27– March 29, 2025
• Module Four: May 1 – May 3, 2025
• Module Five: May 29 – May 31, 2025
• Module Six: June 25 – June 28, 2025

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP PROJECTS 

You are required to apply with a Personal Leadership Project (PLP) that you will work on throughout the program. This project might be a component of your day-to-day work or something you are pursuing outside of your day-to-day responsibilities. It may represent an important next step in an initiative on which you are already working, or the first step in a new project. The project should involve a significant leadership challenge that can be addressed by the insights gained throughout the program. We expect Scholars to have adequately thought through many of the important elements required to achieve a significant outcome by the end of the program. The project should:

• Focus on a positive outcome for a specific group of people. 
• Have an achievable six-month goal, even if the broader work itself will take a longer timeframe than six months.
• Leverage the Scholar’s existing knowledge, experience, and/or network.  
• Benefit from participation in the program.  

APPLICATION PROCESS 

Throughout this application, you will be required to provide personal background information (academic, professional, etc.), responses to essay questions, recommendations, and a summary of your Personal Leadership Project. 

All application materials, including recommendations, must be submitted online by 11:59 PM CT Sunday, July 14, 2024. Following a thorough review of each application, we will invite a group of applicants to interview for final selection into the program. Finalists will be notified by mid-September if they have been invited to participate in the interview process. Interviews will be conducted in early October, and final acceptance decisions will be made in December 2024.

Again, thank you for your interest in the Presidential Leadership Scholars program. We look forward to getting to know you through this application process.

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