An essay by Sweet Briar College President Elisabeth Muhlenfeld is included in “Educating Future Leaders for the Modern World,” a collection of articles to be discussed at “Leadership Across the Liberal Arts Curriculum” a conference to be held June 14-15 in Claremont, Calif.

Attending the symposium will be some of the nation’s leading scholars of leadership studies and representatives of some 50 liberal arts institutions. This unprecedented gathering is the capstone of a three-year initiative funded by the W.M. Keck Foundation.

The project has been dedicated to integrating topics of responsible leadership across the liberal arts disciplines.

“The conference should provide a forum for stimulating, thought-provoking discussions among scholars on best practices for teaching leadership across the liberal arts curriculum,” said Ronald Riggio, director of the host institution, the Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremont McKenna College, and a keynote speaker at the conference.

The Kravis Institute, the Institute for Leadership Studies at Loyola Marymount University and the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond collaborated on the initiative, which included a 2006 summer workshop, fellowships for undergraduate students and faculty, and new interdisciplinary courses developed in the arts, sciences and social sciences that focus on leadership themes.

In addition to Riggio, keynote speakers at the conference include Thomas Cronin, president emeritus of Whitman College; J. Thomas Wren, the interim dean of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond; Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College, and Michael Genovese, director of the Institute for Leadership Studies at Loyola Marymount University.

Sending representatives to the conference are: Allegheny College, Averett University, Azusa Pacific University, Barnard College, Bates College, Beloit College, Birmingham-Southern College, Claremont McKenna College, Colgate University, Colorado College, Cornell College, Creighton University, Doane College, Fairfield University, Fisk University, Harvey Mudd College, Hendrix College, Hollins University, Indiana University, Kalamazoo College, Loyola Marymount University, Marietta College, Mercer University, Milsaps College, Muhlenberg College, Neumann College, New College of Florida, Pomona College, University of Puget Sound, Purdue University, Rhodes College, Rollins College, Savannah College of Art, Skidmore College, Smith College, Southwestern University, Spring Hill College, St. Augustine’s College, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, St. Olaf College, St. Peter’s College, Trinity College, University of Richmond, University of Texas at Arlington, Washington & Jefferson College, Washington College and Wells College.

The volume of essays will be published and includes contributions from the following, in addition to Muhlenfeld: Thomas Cronin, president emeritus, Whitman College; Richard Ekman, president, Council of Independent Colleges; Jean Bethke Elshtain, University of Chicago Divinity School; Michael Genovese, Loyola Chair of Leadership Studies, Loyola Marymount University; Elizabeth Kiss, president, Agnes Scott College; Richard Morrill, president emeritus of University of Richmond, Centre College and Salem College; Ronald Riggio, director, Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremont McKenna College, and Ken Ruscio, president, Washington & Lee University.

For more information, visit www.keck.richmond.edu.