MARLBORO — Marlboro College has begun a partnership with the Snelling Center for Government to introduce three new graduate level courses in leadership, public policy, and community engagement.
The courses, based on learning from the Snelling Center's Vermont Leadership Institute, will be incorporated into Marlboro's Master of Science in Management–Mission Driven Organizations (MSM-MDO) program.
“I am excited about our new partnership with Marlboro College,” Mark Snelling, president of the Snelling Center, said in a press release. “The new program brings together two wonderful Vermont institutions, and will enhance our graduates' knowledge as they continue to work as leaders in their communities across Vermont.”
Ellen McCulloch-Lovell, Marlboro College's president, echoed those sentiments:
“I could not be more pleased. The partnership between the Snelling Center and Marlboro College deepens the opportunities for those who work in the state's important nonprofit sector to develop their leadership and management skills,” she said.
The Snelling Center created the Vermont Leadership Institute (VLI) in 1995 to stimulate citizen enthusiasm for and participation in public service. Under the terms of the agreement, Marlboro College will design three graduate courses on the foundation of the VLI learning experience and augmented by related coursework.
Those courses are Emotional Intelligence for Leaders, Public Policy and Systems Change in Vermont, and Collaboration and Change.
Through this new partnership, graduate credit will be made available to all VLI participants, whether they are matriculated degree students at Marlboro or not. VLI students accepted into the MSM-MDO program will be able to apply nine credits earned through VLI toward their degree.
The new courses in turn make a valuable addition to the MSM-MDO program, one of seven graduate degrees offered at Marlboro's Center for Graduate and Professional Studies.
The goal of the program is for students to develop the leadership capacity and management skills to achieve their organizational missions for the ultimate benefit of society, and VLI will be a valuable foundation.
Sean Conley, associate dean of graduate and professional studies at Marlboro, said this agreement goes a long way toward achieving that goal.
“Marlboro and the Snelling institute share a commitment to educating ethical, informed, and thoughtful leaders, dedicated to the advancement of the public good,” he said.