When the Chips are Up
Arizona Blue Chip puts stock in leadership
By John Lamothe, associate editor

When it comes to leadership training, does size really matter? If you ask Terence Thompson, director of the Blue Chip Program, a four-year leadership development program at the University of Arizona, he would tell you that structure is far more important than size. But that hasn’t stopped Thompson from building Blue Chip into the largest leadership-development program of its kind nationwide with 700 active students.

Started in 1999, Blue Chip lets interested students develop leadership skills and gain experience in a much more structured and intensive way than if they just took a few leadership courses. Blue Chip’s four-year commitment and rigid guidelines resemble the coursework for any standard major, but the program prides itself on teaching skills that aren’t career specific—whether you want to run your own Fortune 500 company or become a full-time parent, you’ll benefit from the program. Even subjects such as basic etiquette and diversity training are taught. “What I’ve learned in Blue Chip is not how to run a company or even how to manage a meeting, although I feel I could do both,” says Rian Satterwhite, a senior in anthropology. “Instead, it’s given me life skills that I’ve already applied and seen great results.”

“We’re trying to expose them to as many different areas that could roughly come under the umbrella of leadership,” Thompson says. The program has started paying dividends to its students as companies such as IBM, the program’s principal funder, take interest in Blue Chip graduates. Upon graduation, students earn a Blue Chip certification—which includes a leadership transcript similar to their academic transcript, certified by a university vice president, outlining their extensive leadership experience throughout their college career. ”Blue Chip differentiates students from their peers,” says Paige Haber, a business management major in her third year with Blue Chip. “I’m not only leaving the program with outstanding experiences under my belt but also with references and an official leadership involvement transcript documenting the validity of every leadership activity in which I’ve participated throughout college.”

Apart from a two-credit class taken during the sophomore year, everything within the Blue Chip program is conducted in an out-of-classroom environment. Activities range from completing rope courses and personality tests as freshman to conducting seminars at leadership conferences as seniors. Fourth-year students must complete a minimum of 20 hours of community service while at the same time mentoring younger Blue Chip students. “We’re preparing our students better to go into the world on the first day,” Thompson says. “Sometimes, it’ll take a regular student six months to get up to speed in a new job as far as accountability. We’re teaching that to our students right now.”

Because of the program’s success, schools from as far away as Australia have contacted Thompson about using the Blue Chip model at their own campuses. And why not? With so many students finding success through Blue Chip’s leadership development, every school could benefit from a similar program. “Because of Blue Chip, I consider myself more competent at life,” Satterwhite says. “Life competency is leadership competency.”

Contact Haber at phaber@u.arizona.edu, Satterwhite at rian@email.arizona.edu, and Thompson at thompsont@email.arizona.edu, or learn more about the Blue Chip Program at www.union.arizona.edu/csil/bluechip.

Copyright © 2005 Oxendine Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved