History
Relive the institute's origin, partially told in first person by Warren Bennis Leadership Experience creator Jack FitzGerald, A&S ‘17, ‘20.
Jack FitzGerald addresses the audience at the Warren Bennis Leadership Experience.
When I was a teenager, my dad had me read Warren Bennis’ "On Becoming a Leader" as a punishment for staying out past curfew. I recall my dad asking me, “Do you want to be a leader or a follower?” Years later, I was reading about Bennis' work to establish a leadership program for first-year students and was surprised I could not find a more visible legacy of Bennis on UC’s campus. Then I met Tom Humes, Bus ‘71, A&S ’77.
Jack FitzGerald and Tom Humes.
Humes, who worked for Bennis during the 1977 campaign to gain state status for UC and was the chairman of the UC Board of Trustees at the time, challenged me to start something that would bring Bennis’ legacy back to campus. Humes believed it was important this effort came from a student because he received the same challenge and mentorship from Bennis himself.
I met with Humes, and several students and key players at UC, to form the initial Warren Bennis Leadership Experience (WBLE) planning team, which included:
- Bill Mulvihill (Bus '70), who worked for Bennis during the conversion to state university
- Jay Chatterjee, FAICP, Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus, DAAP
- Charles (Chuck) Matthews, PhD (Bus ’90), Distinguished Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy
- Donna Chrobot-Mason, PhD, Associate Psychology Professor
Before graduating in the spring of 2017, I spoke at TEDxUCincinnati to share the history of the Warren Bennis Leadership Experience to inspire students to get involved in the planning of future events.
From Event to Initiative to Institute
UC alumni Neal Novak, JD (A&S ’73, LAW ’77) and Joan Linhardt, MD (A&S ’72, MED ’76) contacted me in fall 2017, while I was living in San Diego as a Jesuit Volunteer after graduating from UC. They explained that they had learned about my work with WBLE. Neal worked as Bennis’ driver and Joan as a nanny, both living at the Bennis residence in Clifton for a period of time during their undergraduate studies.
They were contacted by the University of Southern California to donate to USC’s efforts around Bennis, but felt more of an affinity for an effort at their alma mater instead, given their relationship with the Bennis family. Neal and Joan commissioned me to travel to where Bennis taught at USC and go through the “Bennis papers” at the USC libraries to find information that would be helpful to their work back at UC.
From left: Jack FitzGerald, Jennifer Heisey, vice president of alumni and donor experience for the UC Alumni Association, and Kate Bennis, daughter of Warren Bennis.
When I completed my Jesuit Volunteer Corps service in fall 2018, I relocated back to Cincinnati to attend grad school at UC. Joan extended the same generosity and experience to me that she received from the Bennis family, and invited me to live at her family’s residence. In the two years that followed, I continued to work with the Warren Bennis Leadership Experience while Joan and Neal became more involved in the legacy work. I completed my Master of Arts in Psychology, submitting a thesis on what it would take to establish a leadership institute at a major university, an effort that involved benchmarking, needs assessments and a review of Bennis’ work.
Linhardt and Novak formed what became the Warren Bennis Leadership Institute Preliminary Advisory Board. This advisory board was formed to discover what it would take to create a leadership institute in the name of Warren Bennis at UC. The board was made up of family and friends of Bennis, alumni, faculty, staff and students, including:
- Kate Bennis, daughter of Warren Bennis
- Will Bennis, son of Warren Bennis
- Jay Chatterjee, FAICP, Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus, DAAP
- Donna Chrobot-Mason, PhD, Associate Psychology Professor
- Bruce Hopple, Bus, JD
- Tom Humes, Bus ’71, A&S ’77, Hon ’16
- Peter Landgren, CCM ’78, President, University of Cincinnati Foundation
- Chuck Matthews, PhD, Bus ’90, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy
- Bill Mulvihill, Bus '70
- Jack Rouse, Emeritus Professor, former chair, UC's College Conservatory of Music
- Richard (Dick) E. Thornburgh, Bus ’74, Hon ’09
- Dave Williams
- Myron (Mike) E. Ullman III, Bus ’69, Hon '06
From left: Donna Chrobot-Mason, Lindner dean Marianne Lewis, WBLE co-founder Jack FitzGerald and former members of the WBLE student team.
The board developed a proposal for UC President Neville G. Pinto, PhD, connecting Warren Bennis’ legacy and UC’s Next Lives Here strategic direction to the opportunity to establish a leadership institute honoring the “Father of Leadership.”
President Pinto endorsed the proposal and charged Lindner Dean Marianne Lewis, PhD, with leading the effort.
In summer 2021, Lewis appointed Donna Chrobot-Mason as Thornburgh Academic Director of the Warren Bennis Leadership Initiative to build the foundation for an interdisciplinary institute focused on leadership development. During this time, Chrobot-Mason and Fitzgerald laid the groundwork for the institute’s mission.
Over the next two years, the Initiative piloted student programs, conducted research on leader identity development and launched executive education offerings. In fall 2022, Alex Mason and Matthew Toigo were hired as the first Student Fellows, helping prepare for the Institute’s official launch.
The Institute Today
Warren Bennis Leadership Institute staff and champions at the institute's ribbon cutting.
On September 15, 2023, the Warren Bennis Leadership Institute officially launched.
In her remarks, Chrobot-Mason included a favorite quote from Bennis: “Leaders learn by leading, and they learn best by leading in the face of obstacles. As weather shapes mountains, problems shape leaders.”
Today, the institute is impacting students across all UC colleges, conducting research on leadership development, and partnering with organizations across the Greater Cincinnati area. The history of the Warren Bennis Leadership Institute is a testament to the profound impact of Bennis’ work and how importance of great leaders.
The Warren Bennis Leadership Institute inspires leaders by helping them believe in their potential and equipping them to lead, wherever they are in their development journey.
Alex Mason Student Fellow, A&S ’23, Bus ’24
Contact Us
Warren Bennis Leadership Institute
Steger Student Life Center
Suite 743 A/B
2801 UC MainStreet
Cincinnati, OH 45221
warrenbennislead@ucmail.uc.edu