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University of Hawai'i |
(808) 956-8856 Telephone |
For Immediate Release: |
October 26, 1999 |
Contact: Nancy Lewis, associate dean, College of Social Sciences, phone
956-6070
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| UH professor to attend unique gathering of international
community leaders |
In an effort to address the challenges and opportunities facing communities everywhere in the new millennium, Nancy D. Lewis, associate dean of the College of Social Sciences at UH Manoa, will join about 600 other community leaders and change agents from around the world at the first ever conference of fellows from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's National Leadership Program (KNLP) and International Leadership Program.
The five-day Leadership Forum will bring together program participants, their advisers and distinguished guests such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias. The event will take place Nov. 6-10 at the Renaissance Washington, D.C. hotel.
Lewis will participate in the conference's dynamic, solutions-oriented dialogue to strengthen local, regional, national and international relationships between these leaders and develop resources for fostering solutions to the problems confronting communities worldwide.
"This conference will give me an extraordinary opportunity to learn how local leaders throughout the world are tackling problems unique to their communities and explore those problems we all have in common," Lewis says. "At this critical juncture in Hawai'i's history we have much to learn and share concerning the economic, educational and social challenges that we face."
Lewis, who was elected to a four-year term as secretary general-treasurer of the Pacific Science Association in July, was awarded a KNLP fellowship in 1986. During the three-year fellowship period she participated in the leadership activities organized by the foundation with a particular emphasis on gender, health and aging. Study trips took her to Mexico and the Caribbean, including Cuba, and her first visit to China. She says the network of colleagues has been invaluable to her, and the experiences she has had have directly influenced the way she thinks about leadership.
At UH, in her international role promoting women and young scientists, and in the community, Lewis tries to develop leadership opportunities for students and colleagues. There are many types of leaders, Lewis says. Lewis cites Dave Heenan's recent book "Co-Leaders: The Power of Great Partnerships." "Developing leadership opportunities for Hawai'i's young people is critical," she says. "There are various paths to leadership, and this may sound simplistic, but in large part you learn to be a leader by experience."
KNLP Program Director Roger Sublett says, "The talent that will be assembled at the Leadership Forum is incredible. The individuals gathering here are leaders who have the grassroots vision, wisdom and will tackle the most pressing issues facing society. They truly represent the future of leadership around the world."
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established by the renown cereal company in 1930. Recognizing the increasing complexity of the challenges facing society and the need for future leaders to broaden their perspectives, the foundation inaugurated KNLP in 1980, creating opportunities for selected fellows to expand their intellectual horizons and bolster their capacities for leadership over a three-year period while remaining employed at their home institutions. More than 700 leadership fellows have participated in the program over the past 18 years, developing leadership capacities that have been of great value to their institutions, their communities and the world at large.
One of the 10 largest foundations in the United States, the Kellogg Foundation's
programming activities center around the common vision of a world in which
each person has a sense of worth; accepts responsibility for self, family,
community and societal well-being; and has the capacity to be productive
and help create nurturing families, responsive institutions and healthy
communities. To achieve the greatest impact, the foundation targets its
grants toward specific areas including health; food systems and rural development;
youth and education and higher education; and philanthropy and volunteerism.
