The Indiana University East Center for Leadership Development will receive a grant from the Indiana University Women’s Philanthropy Council to establish a new Academy for Cultivating Talent. The IU Women’s Philanthropy Council announced the award recipients on March 6.

The $15,000 grant is seed funding for the Academy for Cultivating Talent, a part of the Center for Leadership Development sponsored by the School of Business and Economics. The Academy for Cultivating Talent will foster the talents of specific and diverse populations not yet fully engaged — socially or economically — in their community, thus advancing the larger IU East region’s economic and cultural development.

Dean of the School of Business and Economics David Frantz said, “We are honored to receive one of the inaugural grants. This program, the Academy for Cultivating Talent, will be an integral part of the Center for Leadership Development, a center formed by the IU East School of Business and Economics and directed by Dr. Fredricka Joyner. We have received this grant as a result of her creative vision to put this project together. Over the years, it will have a significant impact on our region.”

Fredricka Joyner, associate professor of business administration and organization behavior, organizes the many managerial and leadership workshops, seminars and conferences held through the Center for Leadership Development. Joyner wrote the proposal for the IU Women’s Philanthropy Council grant.

Joyner said the first year of the academy will focus on creating pipelines for women to leadership positions in business and civic engagement. The program, “Carry It Forward: Creating Networks and Pipelines for Women Leaders,” will work with professional women in mid-level or senior-level positions who are poised to make a difference in their organization and community, Joyner said.

In the future, the Academy for Cultivating Talent will focus on other groups including young professionals, senior leaders, small business owners or non-profit leaders. Each year the academy’s program will be tailored and customized for the group.

“If we want to improve and develop the community then we need to develop the leaders to do that,” Joyner said.

The first academy will begin in September 2012. Joyner said the first steps after receiving the IU Women’s Philanthropy Council grant will be to convene a group of advisors to plan the first year academy.

More on the IU East Center for Leadership Development
The Center for Leadership Development is a campus and community resource focused on creating and offering leadership development initiatives to enhance the managerial and leadership capacities of the region. A primary purpose of the center is to link the academic resources of the School of Business and Economics to the economic development needs of the region.

For more information about the IU East Center for Leadership Development or the Academy for Cultivating Talent, contact Fredricka Joyner, associate professor of business administration and organization behavior, at (765) 973-8412 or visit iue.edu/business/leadership.