Classes
The Emerging Leader Institute consists of a series interactive leadership development seminars and workshops. Session topics include:

• What is leadership?
• Different views of leadership (historical, cultural, gender, etc.)
• Traits of effective leaders
• Your personal leadership style
• Motivation
• Change
• Vision
• Communication
• Presentation skills
• Delegation
• Ethics
• Teamwork
• Diversity
• Personal leadership philosophy

Mentor Groups
Small groups of students meet for one to two hours a week to discuss the course components, discuss progress being made toward the individual project, and form a small bond among the students. Mentor groups are led by a former ELI student and a current faculty or staff member of UK.

Group Projects
As a large group, the ELI class will choose, plan, and execute a large service project in the local community. This event serves as a preview to the individual leadership experience and will engage the class in civic duty. Past service projects have included environmental clean up days, fall and spring parties at local not-for-profit agencies, and assisting local agencies with clean up and repair.

Individual Projects
One of the highlights of ELI is the opportunity to investigate a topic of personal interest. This may be an area that the student is presently involved with, or one that the student would like to learn more about. Students plan, develop, and execute the leadership project on their own, with the help of the class, the mentor group, and university resources. Past projects have included speaking to school groups, developing leadership courses for clubs, service to not-for-profit agencies, working with government and community leaders to foster changes, and many other ideas. These projects are designed to challenge the student to step out of their comfort zone and make a difference.