The Leadership Institute at Franciscan University forms highly skilled Catholic leaders to be witnesses of truth, reason, and virtue in the marketplace, in the Church, and in the broader culture. God calls each person to identify and pursue his or her special talents with passion and then to embrace leadership roles in science, technology, business, nursing, education, or other career fields, as well as in family life, religious life, the priesthood, or Church ministry. The Leadership Institute helps you answer that call by forming you in leadership craft illuminated by Franciscan virtues and Catholic social teaching.

The Leadership Institute also complements and enhances the work of Franciscan’s Center for Leadership, a separate, four-year program organized around weekly seminars and on-campus student leadership roles that provides leadership training for a select group of undergraduates.

The Leadership Institute inspires students, faculty, staff, and friends of Franciscan University to serve as authentic, joyful, Catholic leaders in their chosen professions and vocations through:

• An executive leadership speaker series featuring extraordinary servant leaders who share their insights with tomorrow’s leaders.
• New academic programming and research in leadership craft, entrepreneurship, and the dignity of the worker.
• Forums to help business executives develop leadership skills and effectiveness grounded in Catholic teaching and Christian virtues.
• Special topic courses taught by distinguished visiting faculty and fellows.
• An Entrepreneurship Minor Program (launching fall 2022) to address the growing interest and needs of students who seek to start their own businesses, non-profits, and social entrepreneurship ventures.

Learn more about the new and exciting ventures happening at the Leadership Institute. Keep checking back to gain insight into speakers’ talks, initiatives, and highlights of the work of the Leadership Institute and its participants.

The Weirton Daily Times covers Bob Olson, an innovative tech and business entrepreneur, joining Franciscan University’s Leadership Institute as the executive director.

The Herald Star describes the ideals and aims of the Leadership Institute at Franciscan University.

Franciscan University of Steubenville announces its latest endeavor to make a difference in the lives of students and the community by creating the Leadership Institute to foster business growth and interest in ethical entrepreneurship.

The entrepreneurship program at Franciscan University of Steubenville will offer courses, work experience, and mentoring to students interested in starting their own businesses or nonprofits. The focus will be on instilling an entrepreneurship mindset rooted in traditional virtues and the free market that encourages intelligent risk taking, innovation, and iteration. New courses are currently being developed from the ground up with feedback from business leaders and entrepreneurs to reflect the real-world knowledge and skills students need to be successful. All the areas of study also will draw on the Catholic worldview and social teaching to inspire students to honor human dignity while attaining their business or social entrepreneurship goals.

The grounding in traditional Christian virtues coupled with the embrace of market principles sets Franciscan University’s program apart from many academic institutions, which unfortunately often confuse social activism for ethical leadership. Franciscan’s curriculum and culture produce students grounded in faith and traditional virtues. This culture at Franciscan University also instills an entrepreneurial mindset among students and graduates who look for social entrepreneurship solutions to solve needs traditionally addressed through charitable donations.  The entrepreneurship program will encourage students to look to market solutions to solve not just traditional market needs, but also the needs of the underprivileged worldwide by providing them sustainable business opportunities and the dignity of work to escape poverty.

The core courses under consideration for the entrepreneurship minor include the following:

• Marketing analysis and strategy for startups
• Starting a new business enterprise, franchise or nonprofit
• Leading and managing teams
• Accounting and finance fundamentals for business startups
• An entrepreneurship lab
• Creating and selling your business plan
• Ethical case studies faced by new start ups

At the end of year one, Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio expects to launch seven courses, to hire a program director, and to fund a competition that will provide seed money for the winning business plan for a new venture. In addition, the entrepreneurship program will fund visiting entrepreneurs, establish a formal mentoring program, offer students the opportunity to visit businesses off campus to gain insight on the challenges of starting and growing a business, and publish short videos on entrepreneurship and leadership.

View course requirements in the Academic Catalog.