Provided Vision for Leader Development
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The ROTC program faced challenges including staff shortages, increased production goals, and policy changes benefitting another university. The leader responded with a multi-pronged action plan: reorganizing operations across campuses; pursuing scholarship students; conducting training; administering budgets; and proposing academic credit for courses. This approach achieved strong results, rewarding cadets, increasing retention, and making the program highly ranked nationally in quality and quantity of cadets and commissions. Academic credit and an active alumni society were also attained.
Provided Vision for Leader Development
- 1. Leadership Case Study Provided Vision for Leader Development Situation: The recent military drawdown impacted the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). The battalion was limited to 9 of 12 authorized staff members, including a contractor and part-time staff as approved substitutes. Despite a 25 percent staff shortfall, U.S. Army Cadet Command (USACC) increased the production mission to the largest of 20 similar programs. A unique relationship between Northeastern University (NU), the host institution, and Boston College (BC) necessitated twice the instructional responsibilities. USACC had difficulty executing its scholarship budget and instituted two aggressive policy changes in as many years. The second change benefited BC at the expense of two NU allocations annually. ROTC courses did not receive academic credit, making recruiting harder, and one of the nation’s largest programs throughout the 1960s did not have an alumni program. Action Plan: • Reorganized the battalion and empowered two officers to run operations at separate campuses; personally oversaw program. • Provided executive direction to recruit, train, develop, and commission officers into the U. S. Army. • Responded quickly to policy changes by actively pursuing deserving students on a standing alternate list. • Presented scholarship distribution options in a detailed study addressing cadet performance, demographics, and university incentives showing that 91 percent of battalion commissions came from scholarship students. • Conducted thorough training in field and classroom environments. • Administered five separate budgets for two universities and the Army. • Proposed ROTC academic credit to the faculty committee and vice provost for undergraduate affairs. • Planned an ROTC 50th anniversary weekend with cadets updating alumni on program and interacting during brunch and home football game. Updated alumni on various USACC historical changes. Results: Rewarded deserving cadets by awarding eight additional scholarships during first policy change and increased student retention ratios to five times the national average. Became the number one brigade program in quality and quantity—59 percent of cadets ranked among the nation’s top one-third; produced the most commissions during a three-year period. Moved program from 72nd to 31st in one year to rank in the top 12 percent of 270 national programs. Demonstrated the value of retaining scholarship allocations and received personal thanks from the commanding general for detailed study and proposal. Received approval for academic course credit and inclusion of ROTC courses as part of a leadership minor. Launched the ROTC alumni society; it is today one of the most active campaigns within the Northeastern University Alumni Association.