Organizational Leadership Institute

The primary mission of the Organizational Leadership Institute (OLI) is to enhance the the leadership experiences and personal leadership development of all College of Business majors. OLI works to achieve this mission through a variety of programs and activities designed to maximize student exposure to leadership principles and practices, and increase opportunities for students to more fully develop their own leadership skills.

Leadership Development Activities

The OLI current sponsors a variety of leadership development activities:

• The Caterpillar Leadership Fellows Program - The Caterpillar Leadership Fellows Program is a highly innovative program designed to enhance the leadership potential of students. The program includes an in-depth leadership and behavioral assessment, a variety of academic and professional readings in the area of leadership, and a mentoring relationship with a leader from State Farm. Majors in all departments in the college have participated in the program since its inception in 2007.
• Summer Reading Program in Leadership - In the reading program, students read a variety of leadership-related materials during the summer.  During the fall semester, students meet with faculty and local corporate/business leaders in a seminar format to discuss the readings. 
• Guest Speakers - The OLI has sponsored a number of campus visits and speeches by corporate leaders. These include speakers from State Farm, Country Financial, and Pearson Publishing.
• Leadership Major and Minor - The COB offers both a leadership major and minor. As academic programs, both the major and the minor are administered by the Department of Management and Quantitative Methods. OLI supports the academic and developmental experiences of students of both majors and minors by offering additional leadership related activities for students and by providing support for faculty.
• Future Business Leaders of America - The OLI sponsors and supports the Illinois State University Chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (Phi Beta Lambda).  Information about the local chapter can be found here.  For more information about the national organization, visit the national website here. 
• Corporate Programs - The OLI sponsors a variety of corporate leadership development activities and will soon offer a Leadership Certificate Program.