Chair of Servant-Leadership

What is your background? How did you come to be the Servant-Leadership chair?
My background? Well, after I had a series of undergraduate experiences in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Spokane, I decided to travel through Europe, Africa and south-east Asia. I wanted to get a feel for what the world was like and who was living out there. Upon my return, I decided to continue my formal education, so I pursued a Master's of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and an Individual Interdisciplinary Ph.D. at Washington State University. After that, I worked at Microsoft; so between my academic, professional, and personal experiences, I was well prepared for a career in teaching at MSOE.

I applied for the Chair for Servant-Leadership position because I wanted my career at MSOE to grow in a new direction; I wanted to work with students out of class as much as in class. Now I have the opportunity to engage students on a daily basis as they leverage their technical and non-technical skills for the betterment of MSOE and the greater-Milwaukee communities.

What is Servant-Leadership?
The term "Servant-Leadership" was first coined by Robert K. Greenleaf. A servant leader is someone who is interested first in serving, and then in leading. That is the approach that we take at MSOE.

How has Servant-Leadership impacted the campus and surrounding community?
Servant-Leadership brings the campus closer to the community. It enables our students to interact with organizations and communities that meet specific needs. For example, we have a group of students who meet with and tutor inner-city youth at Westside Academy II. It shows how MSOE students willingly take what they learn in class and apply it to a community that can benefit from it.

What type of students do you look for to volunteer?
Actually, I don't usually look for them - they look for me. That's what makes our program successful: it begins with a student who wants to make a difference, who wants to lead other students in a service opportunity. All I do as the chair is provide the necessary infrastructure, contacts and budget.

What is one of your most memorable projects?
We organized an event that benefited Healthcare for the Homeless, a Milwaukee-based non-profit that had a direct and immediate impact on the local homeless population. Ryan Smaglik, an Electrical Engineering major, organized a group of students to collect and sort supplies (toothbrushes, deodorant, floss, etc) into plastic bags that can be easily distributed to the homeless. I enjoyed this event because it demonstrated how willing our students are to show up on a Saturday afternoon to help others.

What do students get out of Servant-Leadership?
An opportunity to exercise one's humanity. A chance to help someone else out, and as a result, the students help themselves. It's tangible and intangible at the same time, which is why it makes sense that we do this good work at the university.

What we need to do, though, is find opportunities that enable academics to overlap with service and learning opportunities. Servant-Leadership works best when it occurs in the classroom.

How can people sign up or find out more?
That's easy -- contact me at howell@msoe.edu or call (414) 277-7373. We can meet, talk about what makes them interested in participating, and match that interest with an opportunity.