Theory

to
Practice
Building more socially
aware leadership

By: Gabby Bacha

Goal of Inclusivity
Mission of The Center for Leadership and
Involvement:

“The Center for Leadership and Involvement

supports the goals of the University of Chicago
by creating meaningful involvement
opportunities and fostering inclusive
environments which advance student
learning.

We pursue our mission by promoting

leadership development, cultivating a sense
campus community, and inviting exploration
and discovery."
 Learning privilege through my own
experiences.
Learned how privilege appeared in
Reflection authority positions through formal

of my  education.
My current advising experience -

Journey students may not have the

opportunity to learn about their
own privilege and inclusivity.
How do we educate students
about their own privilege in
leadership? How do we teach
them to lead responsibly? 
 Proposal

Student Leadership Institute II:

Building Reflective
and Intentional Allies

Expansion: “We strive to ensure that students are able to

leverage the full value of their education so that they
may go on to become effective and ethical leaders.”

Emphasis on how to reflect on own privileges and use

these toward allyship in hopes of creating social change.
 Learning Outcomes
1
Within two quarters, students will learn three ways
in which their identities influence their leadership
style. 

2
Within two quarters, students will identify three
areas of personal privilege and how these interact
with the concept of power.  

3
Within two quarters, students will learn three
strategies to ignite inclusive leadership.
 

4
 Within two quarters students will learn how to
recognize meritocracy, and 3 ways in which this myth
is perpetuated with regards to leadership.

5  Within two quarters, students will recognize five

contextual influences of leadership and utilize
critical-thinking tools to dissect these influences. 
Logistics
Program will take place over two quarters.
Workshops will explore various
privileged/oppressed identities each week.
Students will be divided into “niche” groups for
their first quarter (i.e. women, POC, first-gen),
students will then intermix groups for cross-
cultural dialogue in the second quarter. 
 Strategies
Dialoguing Guest
Lecturers
Interactive  Reflection
Activities
ground rules alumni 
homework city leaders
Genderbread
TedTalks university journaling 
privilegewalk
leaders vulnerability 
identiTREE
 Baxter-Magolda's Self-
Theoretical authorship (re-imagined)

Framework Abes, Jones, McEwen's

Meaning-Making Filter

Sanford's Challenge and

Support Theory
 Self-Authorship
Trusting the Internal-Voice: “They recognized that
reality, or what happened in the world and their lives,
was beyond their control, but their reactions to what
happened was within their control. Trusting their
internal voices heightened their ability to take
ownership of how they made meaning of external
events.” (Baxter-Magolda, 2008, p. 279)

Re-imagined: challenging the inner-voice.

Are they making meaning based upon stereotypes? Within the belief of
meritocracy? 
Giving students the tools to challenge their inner-voice, thus to build an
internal foundation toward just leadership. 

Within group dialogue as a means to dissect

current inner-voice.
Cross-group dialogue as a way to challenge inner-
voice. 
 Meaning-Making Filter
Examining how other identities affect the
core identity. 
Recognizing how their meaning making
filter is built.
Dialoguing as a way to tighten their
meaning-making filter and critically
examine how their leadership is being
developed. 
Discerning if external factors are helping
create ethical and just leadership practices. 
Encouragement of contextual factors that
enable ally to become an aspect of core
identity. 

Interactive activities to recognize how identity

salience can affect leadership.
Intentional reflection as a means to recognize core
identity. 
Lectures about responsible leadership and power. 
 Challenge & Support
3 Conditions: 
Readiness: prior knowledge of leadership and power, supplemental
materials. 
Challenge: introspection and reflection on identity, uncomfortable
when challenged.
Support: trained dialogue leaders, validation from those “in group”,
and ground rules.

Validation Theory:
As students are being vulnerable in spaces with peers,
it is important to validate how they feel, yet make sure
to not reinforce problematic thinking. Does this mean
calling-in? Or calling-out? 
Other
Theoretical 
Considerations
Queer Theory
Critical Race Theory 
Feminist Theory 
Sexual Identity Development
Racial Identity Development
Questions?
References
Abes, E., Jones, S., McEwen, M. (2007). Reconceptualizing
the model of multiple dimensions of identity: The role of
meaning-making capacity in the construction of multiple
identities. Journal of College Student Development, 48 (1),
1-22

Magolda, B.M. (2008). Three elements of self authorship.

Journal of College Student Development, 49 (4), 269-284.
doi: 10.1353/csd.0.0016

Patton, L. D., Renn, K. A., Guido, F. M., & Q. (2016). Student

Development in College: Theory, Research, and Practice,
3rd Edition. John Wiley & Sons