Nollau Leadership Institute Continues Legacy of Leadership Development

20 years ago, CHHSM launched an ambitious plan to offer a leadership development program for our members and the wider Church. The resulting Nollau Leadership Institute aims to provide content that is meaningful and useful to participants, as well as to offer a means of developing a professional network that will have lasting effects.

Faculty of the Nollau Leadership Institute remained consistent over the last several years and will continue to be consistent into the future. Returning faculty provide continuity for the students and seamless collaboration amongst the faculty team. Ms. Peggy Mullan, Mr. Michael Readinger, and Rev. Danielle Bartz comprise the faculty team. The program lasts one year, beginning in April and ending with the CHHSM Annual Meeting the following March. There are three in-person retreats, each lasting two and a half days. In between retreats there are small group conference calls and online discussions using the electronic learning environment, Moodle.

Participants read and discuss texts pertaining to scripture and leadership, watch videos and work through case studies individually and collaboratively. Supplementing the Nollau curriculum in 2016, participants created hour-long workshops for leadership topics in which they were interested and conducted them with attendees of the Annual Meeting. These workshops were the highlight of the Annual Meeting for many attendees and will be offered again in 2017.

Participation remains steady with each class consisting of 15 to 18 students. Increasing participation remains a goal; however, there is a concerted effort to maintain an intimate and individual experience for attendees. There is consistently at least one participant from the national setting of the United Church of Christ. Recently, local church clergy participated as well. CHHSM offers tuition scholarships from the Legacy Fund to members who wish to send an individual but find the program cost-prohibitive.