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Kellogg Board Fellows and the Education Industry

Last week, I had the great privilege of getting my assignment for the Kellogg Board Fellows program.  In addition to getting assigned to the education industry, which was my first choice for the program, I’ll also get a chance to work firsthand with an innovative charter school in the Chicagoland area, name Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. I look forward to the upcoming months, where I’ll have the chance to see first-hand how leaders in the field are taking action and also see what their thoughts are regarding the future of the education industry.

The Board Fellows Program here at Kellogg is a fourteen month program, that matches Kellogg MBA candidates with the boards of directors of nonprofit organizations and gives them temporary board appointments. Fellows attend the various board sessions, take part in some of the committee meetings, and usually have the opportunity to complete a strategic project for the organization. There are not really typical projects for the program but past projects have revolved around Board governance, fundraising, goal setting, and strategic planning for the organization.  And over time everyone takes unique roles depending on the needs of the specific organization.

In addition to gaining real-world experience on a board of directors, students also enroll in two nonprofit board governance course here at Kellogg –  Nonprofit Board Governance and Advanced Board Governance.  Together, these courses offer the fellow an opportunity to study boards, understand current trends, discuss our own experiences, and in the end learn how to become an effective board member.

My specific organization is Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, located in Downtown Chicago.  The mission of the school is to”offer a Catholic college preparatory education for the immigrant families of Chicago’s near southwest side.” And in practice,  the school takes kids that are usually the first in their families to obtain a college degree and also helps them with summer internships. While I haven’t actually met my organization yet, on the surface it sounds like exactly the type of organization I was looking for.

Not everyone here at Kellogg applies to be part of the Board Fellow program, but an increasingly large number of people do.  Because in business school, a lot of people understand this there’s more to the overall experience than learning finance and strategy but that it’s also important to think about community and social enterprise.  And fortunately, there are great programs like the board fellows program that can help up and coming business people to quickly get engaged in that process.

And in my view, the best leaders know, that social enterprise is critical. That a leader’s job is not only to maximize profits and negotiate deals but also to help build the communities around them.  And when they do, these communities will thrive and build up the up-and-coming leaders that will be inspired to do the same.  And in the end, these classes,meetings, and MBA Board Fellows Programs across the country will definitely help to make a difference.

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