MSOLE Program Celebrates Five Years of Success

On May 21, members of the Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and Ethics (MSOLE) community, including current students, alumni and faculty — more than 30 in all — gathered in Austin at Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill to celebrate the program's five-year anniversary. Along with meeting new people and connecting with old friends, participants reflected on the success of this unique graduate program, which prepares students to step into leadership roles in both the business and nonprofit communities.

Embraced by the Austin Business Community
The idea for the program started in 1999 when MSOLE Director Allan Pevoto set out to create some leadership education classes for the university's MBA program. Shortly after that, he polled the Austin business community to see if there was a need for and interest in a graduate leadership program independent of the MBA program. A majority of the respondents agreed, and in the spring of 2001, Pevoto welcomed 12 students to the new program.

Over the past five years, MSOLE has attracted students with a variety of professional and educational experiences. And as varied as their backgrounds are, one common factor seems to link these students. “They all believe that they can make a difference,” Pevoto says.

Opening the Door to New Directions
One such student is Jan Berger, MSOLE ’03, who joined the program as a returning adult student after spending 12 years in administration and fundraising in the corporate and nonprofit sectors. During the program, she left her job as an associate director of an Austin-area nonprofit and began to focus on mediation and conflict resolution. Supplementing her MSOLE coursework with mediation studies, she now operates her own mediation business, J Berger & Associates.

“It was a fabulous experience for me,” Berger says. “It was hard work, but the program's focus on spirit and team development set a nice stage for me. I am definitely a different person now.”

A New Generation of Leaders
In five years, MSOLE has produced 83 graduates who have gone on to a number of leading companies, such as:

• Dell
• Motorola
• State Farm Insurance
• Cingular Wireless

The program's continued growth is mainly due to word-of-mouth promotion by both current students and alumni, Pevoto says. “We never wanted this to be a large program, but we're happy with its success. It's doing what we anticipated.”

As the program looks forward to the next five years and beyond, it will do so with a new director at the helm. Pevoto announced at the gathering that he would be stepping down as MSOLE director and will be succeeded this fall by Assistant Professor of Business Tom Sechrest, who has taught in the program since its inception.