Students to dine with chancellor

IU-Bloomington Chancellor Sharon Brehm knows that with more than 29,000 undergraduate students on campus, the concerns of the individual student can seem pretty distant from the administration.\nTo combat this communication problem, Brehm has designed a program to empower campus leaders through an intimate dinner at her home.\nThe year's first Leadership Dinner Series will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 14. All full-time IU-B students who have completed two full semesters of classes with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and show initiative or potential for student leadership are encouraged to apply. \nThe Chancellor's Leadership Dinner Series was developed last year by Brehm and then-senior Erin Ransford as a venue in which the chancellor could engage with student leaders in a small, intimate setting to discuss leadership skills and campus issues. \n"We talk about leadership and what it means," Brehm said. "But we go where the group wants to."\nOutside of the benefits to students, Brehm appreciates the opportunity it allows her to stay informed of campus leadership issues and increase her understanding of student life on campus. \n"The biggest challenge for any leader in any position is to stay close to those you are working for," she said.\nHeld at the chancellor's home and funded by the Office of the Chancellor, the Leadership Dinners will occur four times throughout the academic year. Eight students will attend each dinner, allowing 32 different students the opportunity to interact with Brehm and other student leaders throughout the series.\n"The dinners help present campus in a smaller setting and make it all personal," said junior Grace Chung, the chancellor's current advisor to undergraduate leadership programs.\nChung said though the program attracts some very distinguished campus leaders, it is designed to combine a diverse sample of students and is not limited to club presidents and directors. She encourages students who would like to take a more active role in campus leadership but may not currently be involved in many campus activities to apply. \n"We really hope that the dinners will have students from different organizations and areas on campus," she said.\nD'Andre May, a junior and current president of leadership development for the Student Alumni Association, also participated in last year's series. For May, the dinner was a good opportunity to meet other students. He found the program initiated an important dialogue between student leaders. \n"At least some member of their organization should get involved in this series -- to learn what's going on around campus and to listen to the experiences of others," May said. "It's a real networking tool."\nMay appreciated the dinner's lack of rigid structure and enjoyed the opportunity to discuss practical issues in leadership with both students and the chancellor. The chancellor takes a hands-free approach, letting students direct the flow of the evening's conversation.\n"The students can do whatever they want," she said.\nBrehm said the dinners should be beneficial to all involved.\n"While I hope students can learn from me and our group's interactions," Brehm said, "I certainly want to meet the students and leave with a better understanding of the nuances of student life."\nApplications for the fall semester dinners are due today for the Oct. 14 dinner and Monday Dec. 1 for the Dec. 8 dinner. Interested students should e-mail gechung@indiana.edu. \n-- Contact staff writer Chris Sommerfeld at csommerf@indiana.edu.