Recipient Guidelines

Recipients will submit reports on a semester basis updating their activities and accomplishments, as well as their reflections on their work and leadership. The full report shall be reviewed by the mentor, then sent to the appropriate administrators. Highlights of ongoing activities and accomplishments shall be made available to a broader audience via postings on the program website. While balancing a respect for scholars’ intellectual property, recipients are encouraged to seek out opportunities to share their work such as SURF, departmental colloquia, and guest lectures in classes.

Although successful applications will entail focused and well-articulated proposals, the nature of such intellectual discovery means that unforeseen experiences, opportunities, and potential detours may emerge over the course of the junior and senior years. Recipients will be encouraged to explore such possibilities with their primary mentor and, should a significant new development emerge, notify the Leadership Prize Director in a timely manner, at a minimum through their regular semester plans and reports.

While the Leadership Prize is designed to support the exceptional promise of students who are intrinsically motivated to pursue excellence, there remains a set of baseline expectations that recipients must meet in order to continue receiving the financial support offered by the prize. It is expected that recipients will:

  • continue to uphold the academic and social policies of Elon University’s Code of Conduct;
  • maintain a cumulative grade point average consistent with your GPA when awarded the scholarship;
  • enroll in 2 credit hours of LED 4998 (or an equivalent) each of the three semesters;
  • participate in the Leadership Development Program associated with this award;
  • demonstrate appropriate progress in meeting the activities and accomplishments proposed in their application;
  • submit semester reports (reviewed by the faculty mentor);
  • demonstrate fiscal and ethical responsibility in the use of Leadership Prize funds; and,
  • present their culminating work (in their Senior year) at the annual Spring Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF).

Recipients will be asked to sign a Leadership Prize Letter of Agreement indicating their understanding and acceptance of these expectations. Although a violation of any of these terms will not necessarily result in automatic termination of the award, the recipient will be required to meet with the Leadership Prize director to discuss how the problems will be redressed. Repeated violations of expectations or egregious ones may be grounds for terminating the award. In such cases, the unused balance of the award will be frozen.

Leadership Research Course Enrollment – LED 4998

Leadership Scholars will remain actively engaged in pursuit of their proposed work for the remainder of their junior and senior years. Hence, it is expected that awardees enroll in a minimum of 2 semester hours of LED 4998: Leadership Research (or an equivalent) for each of the three semesters of the award.

To register for LED 4998, students must fill out the Registrar’s online form early enough that they allow time for the full approval process.  Students are encouraged to enroll during pre-registration period.  Check the academic calendar to identify those dates.

After the online form is submitted by the student, it will be routed electronically to the faculty mentor for approval. It then is routed to the Director of the Leadership Studies minor, Deidre Yancey, for final approval. Please allow enough time for this registration process to be completed before the deadlines posted above.  When fully approved, the Leadership Scholar will receive an email notice and should forward that to Drew Evans, Program Assistant in the Center for Leadership (devans12@elon.edu).

Allocating Leadership Prize Funds

Recipients of the Leadership Prize fill out the Leadership Prize Purchase Request (through PhoenixCONNECT) with complete details for the requested expenses or purchases from their budget as they are needed. Details should be provided on the event (including dates), project, specific items to be purchased, and estimated or actual costs. Include links or other supporting documents (i.e., webpages/links) and submit the form for approval prior to purchasing or incurring any expenses.  Your Mentor will be sent a copy of the request and reviewed/approved by Dr. Jodean Schmiederer (jschmiederer@elon.edu).

Please plan ahead to allow sufficient time for processing payment requests and/or shipping-delivery.  After the allocation request is approved, original receipts must be submitted for expenses incurred. Annual deadlines (aligned with the end of each academic and fiscal year) for allocations, purchases, and receipts are announced each spring semester.

Leadership Development Program

As you are conducting your research and developing a better understanding of the problem, you will also engage in personal leadership development.  This will include readings on leadership and change for the common good, completing personal leadership inventories/assessments, debriefing those in a facilitated discussion, reviewing your leadership with your mentor and leadership coach, and putting this leadership knowledge into practice with your Common Good initiative.  (Reflection on your leadership journey is then also included in the semester reports referenced below.)

Common Good Initiative Proposal

When the research portion of your work is nearing completion you will submit an updated proposal for the change project and plan/timeline for implementation.  (If the timing is appropriate, this can be included in your end of semester report.)  This plan will describe a strategy to implement and (at least preliminarily) measure/evaluate the efforts designed to create positive social change.

Semester Reports

The Semester Report is due to the Leadership Prize director by the last day of finals each semester. Please submit this for your mentor’s review with enough time for their feedback (at least no later than the last day of classes), then email the final version to Dr. Jodean Schmiederer (jschmiederer@elon.edu) and your faculty mentor by the last day of finals.

Download the form for the Leadership Prize Semester Report.

Pursuit of Other Fellowships

An additional possible outcome of the Leadership Prize is the identification and development of candidates for national fellowships and awards. Dr. Ann Cahill, in her role as Director of National and International Fellowships, will work with awardees, providing mentoring, support, and recognition for these pursuits. Leadership Prize awardees are expected to give strong consideration to pursuing fellowships appropriate to their educational and career goals.