ZWEMER VIEWLeading in Leadership

DOUG BURG

At Northwestern College, educating students for leadership is a key part of our mission. We want graduates to model leadership in their families, careers, communities and churches.

One such model leader was Jim Franken ’75, CEO of Interstates in Sioux Center and trustee of NWC. After his untimely death in 2001, his family and friends made donations to establish Northwestern’s Franken Leadership Center in Jim’s name. The center aims to instill in students the leadership principles Jim lived by so they might lead well in ways that honor God and further his kingdom.

Other leaders have invested in the center. In 2013, support from Todd ’89 and Jill (Erwin ’91) Carlson enabled us to hire a full-time director, Dr. Sandi (Kuiper ’83) Altena. Dr. Altena has guided faculty to add service-learning components to their courses and overseen the addition of more than 50 paid internship opportunities for students, including our elite-level Carlson Internships. Three years ago, in partnership with Pizza Ranch, Dr. Altena and colleagues in Northwestern’s graduate school launched the Northwestern Leadership Series, an annual leadership development conference for business professionals and community leaders.

This year’s Northwestern Leadership Series keynote speaker was Dr. Wess Stafford, author and president emeritus of Compassion International. Active in child-advocacy ministry for 40 years, Dr. Stafford challenged attendees to lead with courage, love, integrity and humility. I had the privilege of spending an additional hour with him, discussing leadership principles. What a blessing!

I knew Dr. Stafford would be a compelling speaker because I’d heard him at a Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit in 2009. I’ve attended the Global Leadership Summit every year since 2000, and it’s been the single greatest influence in my own leadership development. So I’m thrilled that Northwestern served as one of the Summit’s livestream hosts for the first time this August.

Willow Creek’s founding pastor, Bill Hybels, often says, “Everybody wins when a leader gets better.” All of us in one way or another are leaders in our personal and/or professional lives. And if we aren’t learning and growing as leaders, then we’re probably not leading very well.

At Northwestern, we are committed to growing leaders among our undergraduate and graduate students through academic and co-curricular programs as well as through mentorship and encounters with diverse people and ideas. The Franken Leadership Center has expanded and amplified our efforts to teach and involve students in leadership. With the Northwestern Leadership Series in June and Global Leadership Summit in August, we have created leadership development bookends for the summer that also enable community members to experience the college’s commitment to leadership too. Northwestern’s mission is to participate in God’s redeeming work in the world. We think developing Christ-like leaders is a faithful way to do that.