Center for Ethical Leadership
The Center for Ethical Leadership launched its leadership education program this year, organizing a major conference that drew top leadership educators and practitioners from around the globe and adding new courses to the LBJ School curriculum.

In its first step toward establishing a world community of leadership developers, the center organized an international conference in January (see story).

Howard Prince, who heads the center, taught a course this spring called "Leading Change." The course was built on the premise that change is a fundamental part of leadership and the capacity to lead change is integral to the policy process. Working in teams, students used case studies of organizations undergoing problems to illustrate how ethical leadership spurs positive change. Among the organizations that were examined were the Ford Motor Company, the U.S. Army, and the City of Austin.

During the fall, Prince taught a course called "Principles and Practices of Effective Leadership," which allowed students to study leadership theory and learn how to apply it. The course focused on leaders, followers, and the situation in which leadership occurs.

According to Prince, those who will become leaders in the future need to study and understand both leaders and followers. "We need inspiration from those who have accepted leadership roles and responsibility," he said. "And we need to understand the needs of those who will demand better future leaders and the right to participate in the leadership process."

RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service
A collaborative effort between the university and two of its counterparts in Mexico may eventually foster the growth of nonprofit groups and philanthropy in Mexico.

As part of the exploratory phase of the venture, a delegation of Mexican officials that included the presidents of the University of Zacatecas and the University of Puebla met this spring with UT Austin faculty and officials, members of the LBJ School's RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service, and representatives from the Dallas-based Mexico Institute and the Meadows Foundation of Texas.

Among the topics discussed during the meeting were funding sources for international programs, collaborative program development between UT Austin and Mexican universities, and management and operations training needs of nonprofit organizations.

Established last year, the RGK Center is headed by Curtis Meadows, Jr., former president of the Meadows Foundation. The center is designed to strengthen and expand the philanthropic and community service sector through education, research, outreach, and innovation support.

This year, the LBJ School offered four classes on nonprofit sector topics: "Management and Operation of Nonprofit Organizations," "Philanthropy: Philosophy, Practice and Public Policy," "Financial Management in Governments and Not-for-Profit Organizations," and "Fundraising for the Public and Non-Profit Sectors."

Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources
Researchers at the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources have been engaged in a wide array of policy research activities over the past year.

Among the education-related projects was a survey used to gauge parents' perceptions of the effectiveness and quality of the education offered by the Austin Independent School District. A multiyear study for the Congressionally mandated National Assessment of Vocational Education also began this year. The project examines career and technology education enrollment in Texas secondary and postsecondary institutions and compares later employment and earnings.

In the area of welfare reform, Marshall Center researchers have been evaluating the impact of reform in Texas, gauging the effects of welfare time limits and other interventions on welfare receipt, client self-sufficiency, participation in workforce programs, and various family and child outcomes. This evaluation will continue into 2002 with funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Texas Department of Human Services.

In a related project funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, center researchers are examining welfare-to-work transitions over the past decade in six urban areas: Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, and Kansas City. The work--which is being done in collaboration with Georgia State University, the University of Baltimore, and other institutions--will culminate in a book for the W. E. Upjohn Institute next year.

Several workforce-related research projects were also undertaken this year. In October, the center--along with partners from the National Governors' Association, Rutgers University, and the University of Washington--convened the Next-Generation Workforce Development System Conference in Austin. The conference was funded by the Ford Foundation and discussed public workforce programs, private sector practices, and changing expectations for the role of education and training in the New Economy.

Marshall Center staff undertook many other projects this year. For more information, visit the center's Web page.

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May 14, 2001

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