Dr. Richard Lytle, dean of the College of Business Administration, has been on post-doctoral fellowship with the organization CEO Forum since October 2012. Lytle has spent the time away from the ACU campus working on two large projects.
Both of these projects are focused on leadership in college-aged students. “Leadership has been a passion of mine for 20 years and I hope these projects will be helpful and fruitful to the next generation,” Lytle said.
Lytle’s first project is with Wake Forest University in conjunction with Duke University. This group is building a curriculum dealing with leadership based on faith and values. The project will begin beta testing the first week of June and launch in the fall of 2013.
Lytle’s second project involves research about next generation leadership through senior Christian CEOs passing on their knowledge to a younger generation. Lytle will do personal in-depth interviews with 50 Christian CEOs before the end of the project. Jennifer Golden, director of COBA Connections, is paralleling Lytle’s work by hosting focus groups with millennial students about what frustrates or worries them about for their future in the workforce. “We want to capture the wisdom of senior Christian CEOs and pass that on to the next generation,” Lytle said.
One of the planned outcomes of this project is an alumni program allowing alums in the mid-professional area of their life to be mentored by CEOs. These emerging leaders will benefit from the experience and knowledge of senior CEOs.
Monty Lynn, associate dean of the College of Business Administration, has picked up some of Lytle’s responsibilities in his absence. The college has missed Lytle’s presence, but has not struggled in his absence. “We have a strong faculty and staff team who lead and serve exceptionally well,” Lynn said.
Lynn hopes to learn from Lytle’s experiences during his post-doctoral fellowship. “We anticipate learning from Rick’s experiences and reflection with Christian leaders in the marketplace. Â His work is at the heart of what we aim to do at ACU,” Lynn said.
