Develop the Leader You're Meant to Be
Welcome to the McDonough Center for Leadership and Business, one of the most comprehensive Liberal-Arts based leadership development centers in American higher education today!
Our many programs, events and initiatives help undergraduate students gain a deeper understanding of leadership, practice their leadership skills, and in the process grow as engaged leaders on campus, in the community, and beyond.
Undergraduate Academic Opportunities
The McDonough Center houses the nationally recognized McDonough Leadership Program, open to undergraduate students in all fields of study at Marietta College. Through a competitive application process, students who are selected to participate in this program are called McDonough Scholars on campus.
McDonough Scholars can pursue one of four academic paths –
- Teacher Leadership Specialization;
- Engineering Leadership Specialization
- Specialization in Leadership Studies
- Minor in Leadership Studies.
To apply to the leadership program, please speak to your admission counselor.
Opportunities for Leadership Development
In addition to academic programs for undergraduate students, the Center promotes activities in five critical areas:
Community Engagement:
The award-winning Office of Civic Engagement promotes the Center’s service projects and volunteer activities for all McDonough Scholars with an emphasis on citizen-leadership development in a pluralistic democracy;
Business Leadership:
The Center focuses on executive education in the for-profit sector, including the Fitzgerald Executive-in-Residence Program and the Visiting Executive Program. We also collaborate with Peoples Bank to host annually the Peoples Bank Business Case Competition on campus;
Nonprofit Leadership:
Through its Nonprofits LEAD Office, the Center promotes leadership development for students interested in working in the nonprofit sector;
Global Leadership:
The Center promotes study-abroad opportunities through annual trips. In recent years, we have taken students to China, Brazil, Costa Rica, Belize, Hungary, Thailand, and Cambodia; and
Research:
The Center also supports student and faculty research activities. Our McDonough Scholars make regular presentations at national and international conferences. The leadership faculty engages in meaningful research that adds to the body of knowledge about Leadership Studies. In fact, the Leadership Core Curriculum uses a textbook, Understanding Leadership, Second Edition (New York: Routledge, 2019), written by two McDonough faculty.
Who was Bernard P. McDonough?
The Center is named in honor of Bernard P. McDonough (1903-1985), a self-made industrialist and entrepreneur who ran wide-ranging global business interests from his Marmac Corporation headquarters in Parkersburg, West Virginia. From humble beginnings, he built an industrial empire after World War II with diverse holdings, including concrete plants, construction companies, shoe factories, marine barges, lawn and garden tool factories, and sand and gravel operations.
In 1986, through a generous $5.5 million gift from McDonough's wife, Alma McDonough, and the McDonough Foundation, Marietta College established the Bernard P. McDonough Center for Leadership and Business. Drawing from a liberal arts curriculum, the Center began offering one of the first comprehensive undergraduate leadership programs in the United States. The Center welcomed its first cohort of undergraduate leadership students in the fall of 1987. In 1988, the McDonough building was dedicated on campus — offering state-of-the-art facilities.
As a reflection of Mr. McDonough’s entrepreneurial spirit, the Center has maintained its focus on cutting-edge leadership studies initiatives, including the Teacher Leadership Certificate, and the Engineering Leadership Certificate. Aside from these innovative tracks, the Center also offers a Minor and a Certificate in Leadership Studies, which can be combined with any major at Marietta College.
Contact Us
There are several ways to contact us, and we'd love to hear from you!
Email: lead@marietta.edu
Phone: 740.376.4624
Address:
The McDonough Center for Leadership and Business
Marietta College
215 Fifth Street
Marietta, OH 45750
U.S.A.