Advancement of Leadership Programs
Register Now for the next Advancing Leadership Programs Webinar: Using Assessment Frameworks, Taking Place 12 June 2023 at 12 pm EDT or 8 pm EDT.
About
ILA’s Advancement of Leadership Programs project works to advance the ongoing leadership learning efforts of the General Principles and Guiding Questions living documents on programmatic development and review.
Download White Papers
General Principles for Leadership Programs – 2021 Concept Paper
Guiding Questions: Guidelines for Leadership Education Programs (2009)
Video Resources
Watch an encore presentation of this April 2023 webinar. Presenters give a general overview of the ILA Guiding Questions & General Principles, discuss how they’ve used them in their own work, and share how to join a working group of peers looking to implement the principles in their own context. If you would like to join a working group, please email CALP@ilaglobalnetwork.org for more information.
Project Goals
- Continue to coordinate efforts with globally minded and like-minded assessment frameworks such as the Carnegie Foundation’s Elective Classification for Public Purpose, and the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS), among others.
- Continue global conversations regarding the General Principles to ensure they stay relevant across sector, culture, and time.
- Pilot and test the Higher Education Guiding Questions Conceptual Framework
- Establish a subcommittee to review the Higher Education Guiding Questions Framework and adapt it to meet the needs of leadership programs in the business sector.
- Seek input from ILA members and other experts and share updates and refinements of the projects’ documents and white papers through online and onsite formats with the membership.
- Research and develop resources for organizations to use in the development of leadership programs.
- Continue to document the project’s progress and annually inform the ILA Board of the work accomplished.
Project History & Current Charge
In the early 2000s, a dedicated group of ILA members began meeting at ILA’s global conferences to discuss the need for a document that developed guidelines and standards for leadership education programs. A research agenda was proposed, which the ILA Board of Directors approved in April 2005. Over the next several years, these members continued to meet, develop, and write ILA’s Guiding Questions: Guidelines for Leadership Education Programs, which was published in 2009.
In 2019, members again saw a need to convene and build on the work done in the Guiding Questions document. ILA convened a General Principles Task Force to develop guidelines for academic curricular and co-curricular leadership programs. Over the next two years, the task force met, researched, and wrote a concept paper titled, General Principles for Leadership Programs, publishing their work in 2021.
The work draws from previous research and initiatives regarding the evolution of leadership learning across cultures and regions of the world. The general principles within the document serve as a foundation upon which an existing leadership program – as well as those designing new programs – can build to promote continuous quality improvement. However, is is not meant to serve as an instrument for accrediting leadership programs.
In 2022, the ILA Board convened the Committee for the Advancement of Leadership Programs to oversee and advance the ongoing global leadership learning efforts in this area.
The Committee for the Advancement of Leadership Programs

Kathy Guthrie (Chair), Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

Michael Chikeleze, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN, USA

Jean Narcisse Djaha, KOFF Global Corporation & Center for Diplomatic & Strategic Studies (Paris, France), Arlington, VA, USA

Jay Gary, Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, OK, USA

Trisha Gott, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA

Dennis C. Roberts, New Dimensions in Education, Wilmette, IL, USA

Adrián Ruíz de Chávez, Anahuac University, Mexico City, Mexico

Rian Satterwhite, University of Nevada, Las Vegas & Claremont Lincoln University, Las Vegas, NV, USA

Oliver Jonathan Jerome Seale, Universities South Africa (USAf), South Africa

Gayle Spencer, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA
Committee Bios
Dr. Kathy L. Guthrie is associate professor in the higher education program at Florida State University. She serves as director of the Leadership Learning Research Center and coordinator of the Undergraduate Certificate in Leadership Studies. She currently serves as the associate editor for the New Directions in Student Leadership series. Her research focuses on leadership learning outcomes, socially just and culturally relevant leadership education, and use of technology in leadership education.
Michael Chikeleze holds the Richard C. and Francelia A. Gozon University Chair in Values-Based Leadership and associate professor of communication. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the International Leadership Association. He received his undergraduate degree in economics from Enugu State University in Nigeria, and his graduate degrees at Washington University in St. Louis (M.B.A. and J.D.) and Benedictine University (Ph.D. in Values-Driven Leadership). Prior to joining Valpo, he was faculty member for five years in leadership studies programs at Louisiana State University Shreveport and Xavier University Cincinnati. His leadership career includes roles in higher education administration (Cincinnati State College and University of Cincinnati) and business management (Procter & Gamble and Chase Bank). Michael writes and lectures on leadership topics, specializing in ethical leadership, law and ethics and sustainable real estate practices. His research focuses on the impact of ethics on decision-making. His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, such as Journal of Leadership Studies, Journal of Leadership Education and Journal of Sustainable Real Estate. He is a member of Academy of Management, Missouri Bar, and International Leadership Association.
Jean Narcisse Djaha is President and Chief Executive Officer at KOFF Global Corporation, where he leads the organization management consulting practice in Public, Private, and Social Sectors. He is also the Global Executive Director and Executive Chairman at Global Africa Leadership Council, where he focused on promoting innovation and transformational leadership in Africa and the President and Executive Chairman of Global Relief Fund for Education, a nonprofit advancing educational technology in African countries. At the Global Africa Leadership Council, he is the Chair of the Debate Series and Annual International Forum, dedicated to bringing together African and world leaders to discuss development challenges and opportunities in Africa. Djaha is the author of three books to advance the field of change and crisis leadership: The SIMPLE Model, introducing an innovative approach for change management in small and large organizations and how connected health technologies are being integrated into our daily lives to promote wellness, better self-management of chronic conditions, and healthier lifestyle choices; The CRISIS Leadership Model, presenting a new model of crisis management in business, government, and the nonprofit sector; and The LOVE Model, helping organizations manage resistance during organizational change management. His ongoing book projects are: The CULTURE Strategy, presenting a new and innovative methodology to create vibrant cultures in public, private, and nonprofit organizations; Leading Africa Differently, introducing The RISE and LEADER models to help develop the next generation of African youth leaders; and World’s Future at War: Economic, Digital, Health and Geopolitical Disruptors in the 21st Century, examining the disruptions that are likely to shape businesses and governments in the next 50 years. In 2023, he will receive a PhD. In International Relations & Diplomacy from CEDS in Paris, France. He has an MPA (Highest Honors) in Public Leadership & Management from Regent University, an MBA (Highest Honors) in International Business Management from Ashworth College, and an MBA (Highest Honors) in Human Resource Management from ASTC University. He is member of the Academy of Management, American Political Science Association, International Leadership Association, Virginia Local Government Management Association, Society for International Development, ICMA, Washington International Trade Association, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.
JAY GARY, PhD, is Associate Professor of Strategic Leadership at Oral Roberts University. Educator, Entrepreneur and Futurist, Jay comes to ILA with 18 years of curriculum, teaching, and assessment experience in leadership studies, ranging from the bachelors, masters to PhD level. He now serves at the Dean level of an online learning unit that enrolls 1,300 students across 25-degree programs. His most recent project has been launching a multi-disciplinary Doctor of Strategic Leadership program for mid- to senior career professionals. For more information visit https://oru.edu/faculty/jay-gary.php or https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaygary/.
Trisha Gott is an assistant professor and associate dean of academics at the Staley School of Leadership. Gott teaches undergraduate and professional coursework related to considering the ethical dimensions of leadership and leadership development. Gott focuses on practice-based leadership education and development for professionals. Since 2016 she has served as co-PI and co-director for the Mandela Washington Fellowship Civic Engagement and Leadership Institute at Kansas State since 2016. Gott is particularly interested in understanding how leadership interventions sustain, translate, and advance community leadership in a global setting.
Dennis C. Roberts is an independent consultant, speaker, and author. Former Assistant Vice President of Education for Qatar Foundation, he served for seven years to guide the establishment of student development and support services for its branch universities at Education City in Doha. He served previously as Associate Vice President of Student Affairs at Miami University. He is past president of the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) and long-term member of the International Leadership Association.
Ruíz de Chávez is a leadership consultant and educator for more than 9,000 top and middle
managers in business, government and social organizations. Currently, he serves as director of the
Center for Leadership Research at Anahuac University in Mexico City. He holds a PhD in
Philosophy and two masters degrees, in Business Management and Sociology. His first degree is in
Industrial Engineering.
Rian Satterwhite is Director of the Office of Service Learning & Leadership at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Teaching Faculty at Claremont Lincoln University. He is Co-founder of the ILA Sustainability Leadership member community, five-time facilitator and 2020-2022 co-chair of the ILA Leadership Education Academy, and former chair of the ILA Leadership Education member community. Rian is experienced with co-curricular as well as undergraduate and graduate credit-based leadership education and development and is the author of numerous publications. He specializes in sustainability leadership, systems thinking, and critical perspectives of leadership.
Oliver Seale is a leadership development specialist, lecturer and researcher. He is the Director of the Higher Education Leadership and Management (HELM) programme at Universities South Africa (USAf). Before that, Oliver was the Director of Executive Education at the Graduate School of Business Leadership in UNISA. Some of his other former positions include: consulting as a strategist and advisor to public and private higher education institutions, acting CEO at Universities South Africa, Director in the Vice-Chancellor’s Office at Wits University, and Deputy Director-General for Training Delivery at the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy (PALAMA).
Oliver has extensive experience in strategic planning, change management, business development, programme/project management, relationship and stakeholder management in various organisational environments. He has a keen interest in university governance, leadership and management, organisational development, performance management and leadership development. He holds a PhD in Leadership Development from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa and has published various academic papers on university leadership, management, deanship and leadership development.
Oliver’s book titled Deanship in the Global South: Bridging Troubled Waters was published in 2021.
Spencer has over 35 years of experience working in higher education. Spencer is the Director of the
Illinois Leadership Center. Spencer served as the Chair of the National Association for Campus
Activities She serves on the Council for Advancement of Standards (CAS) for Higher Education and
chaired the CAS review of the Student Leadership Programs Standards, released in 2020.