Student Involvement and Leadership

Mission

Student Involvement and Leadership helps students co-create Duke experiences that enhance their sense of belonging through meaningful programming, advising, and training.

Values

Driven by our students, our team, and our greater community, Student Involvement and Leadership values compassion, trustworthiness, inclusion, knowledge, and fun.

Below are the leadership competencies that Student Involvement and Leadership uses when designing events, trainings, and workshops.

Adapted from the Social Change Model of Leadership Development (1994) and the Culturally Relevant Leadership Framework (2016)

• Self-Knowledge (internal character focus)

  • Student is aware of how they are perceived by others; this knowledge of self is informed by both their identity and society and they know how this informs their practice of leadership. Student is aware of their own power and privilege and how this impacts their leadership and relationships.

  • Student possesses confidence and efficacy with self-awareness and makes commitments that are prioritized appropriately. Student is aware of the scope of their competence and knows where their expertise lies.

  • Student practices congruence of their values with behaviors demonstrating integrity and high personal standards. When an internal conflict of values arises, student understands how to navigate that dissonance.

  • Student understands that leadership is not positional. Leadership is integrated into student’s own identity.

• Curiosity (external character focus)

  • Student understands and exhibits healthy risk taking, showing humility, courage, and interest in learning about others’ identities and experiences.

  • Student exhibits self-assurance that they have positive qualities balanced with a focus on continuous improvement of self; regularly seeks feedback and learns from failure.

  • Student asks for help or connects with others when faced with challenges.

  • Student knows how to navigate cross-cultural spaces, how to be curious in those spaces and understands the impact of their identity within those spaces.

• Collaboration

  • Student practices effective communication, as appropriate to the situation.

  • Student values and knows how to build belonging in a group.

  • Student has skills in organizational management including motivating a group around a common purpose, navigating controversy or conflict with civility, including and valuing diverse voices, and ensuring equal and equitable contribution from all members. Student both exhibits and facilitates sharing of ideas and distribution or delegation of responsibilities across team members.

  • Student is able to discern collaborations or partnerships that make sense for the topic and builds quality collaboration from idea inception.

  • Student is able to examine themes of power and privilege to understand how it impacts group behavior.

• Innovation (internal community focus)

  • Student exhibits understanding of change process and practices change management skills towards positive change. This includes practicing coalition building and activism informed by actual needs and root cause.

  • Student advocates for an asset-based approach to change work.

  • Student understands the historical legacy of inclusion and exclusion in their communities. Student includes and values diverse voices and experiences in order to achieve quality and sustainable change.

• Community Responsibility (external community focus)

  • Student values social responsibility, working towards and with groups, causes, and communities they care about. Student does this work with a level of selflessness, not to build their own ego or resume.

  • Student understands the interconnectedness of experiences and uses this to foster a climate of belonging.

  • Student understands the impact of the historical legacy of inclusion/exclusion and how this shapes existing organizational structures.

  • Student understands the context of time, place, and manner, and knows how to use this to support the community in the ways it needs.