2019-2020 BSC Catalog

44 ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
Hess Center for Leadership and Service
Kent S. Andersen, Director
The Hess Center for Leadership and Service encourages individuals to realize their full
leadership potential so that they can contribute to the communities that matter to them.
Guided by the assumption that anyone can lead, Hess Center programming enables
participants to understand, analyze, and practice leadership.
The Hess Center poses the following question to those who participate in its programs:
how do we enact and cultivate effective leadership? This mission is achieved through
programming for students, faculty, staff, and the larger community. Four programs in the
Hess Center for Leadership and Service serve students: the Distinction in Leadership
Studies, the Hess Fellows advocacy and anti-poverty internships, the First-Year
Leadership Challenge, and the Compass student publication.
The Academic Distinction in Leadership Studies Program
The Distinction in Leadership Studies (DLS) program provides students with the
opportunity to develop a rigorous understanding of the concept of leadership and enhance
their leadership practice. Details about the program can be found in the “Major, Minor,
and Distinction Requirements” section of this catalog.
Hess Fellows Advocacy and Poverty Internships
The Hess Fellows Program matches students with non-profit advocacy and anti-poverty
organizations for intensive summer internships. Students involved in these internships
learn about advocacy, community engagement, and non-profit management. They
participate as full members of the agencies, building organizational capacity by
conducting research, facilitating coalitions among constituencies, leading community
outreach programs, organizing lobbying efforts, or conducting program evaluations. Antipoverty
internships are facilitated by the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on
Poverty, a coalition of more than twenty colleges and universities offering such
internships to their students. Students in the Hess Fellows program participate in
workshops before and after their internships and complete written reflections on their
experiences during the internship. Applications for internships are due in November each
year and participants are selected through a competitive process.
The First-Year Leadership Challenge
The First-Year Leadership Challenge is a co-curricular experience offered during the
month of January that prompts students to identify their leadership strengths and position
themselves for success at Birmingham-Southern College and beyond. The Challenge
introduces leadership concepts and practices relevant for campus involvement. Students
meet weekly to participate in activities and simulations with other first-year students. The
Challenge is a joint effort between the Office of Student Development and the Hess
Birmingham-Southern College Catalog 2019-2020