Organizers of the Lancer Leadership Series Winter Conference, “Leadership on the Commons,” Jan. 12 and 13 on the UWindsor campus, are excited to hear from the University’s president Robert Gordon for an opening keynote address.

“The Lancer Leadership series events are where the top UWindsor student leaders come to learn, network, and be known across campus,” says staff advisor Tim Brunet, co-ordinator of student leadership in the Student Success and Leadership Centre. “Having Dr. Gordon speak to them is a great opportunity for them to hear from a leading authority on environmental issues and agricultural engineering.”

Previous to taking up his role at the University of Windsor, Gordon held a Canada Research Chair in Environmental Resource Management and headed the environmental management section of the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture. Throughout his leadership roles, he has maintained a strong research profile, publishing more than 160 refereed journal articles and supervising dozens of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

The conference theme covers everything from the management of the Internet, water systems, natural resources, open-source education, non-governmental organizations, Brazilian favelas, food security and women small-holder farms, sustainable and generative systems, and impacts of copyright and patents.

“The goal is to connect students to systems, global challenges, and real-life case studies of success,” Dr. Brunet says. “We also want them to try a few of the strategies before they go out and share their new knowledge with their community.”

Conferees will participate in a business case simulation in small groups tasked with managing a hotel and reducing carbon emissions while stabilizing profits.

They will hear Outstanding Scholars presenting their collective review of the book Reimaging Leadership on the Commons: Shifting the Paradigm for a More Ethical, Equitable, and Just World, in a session summarizing 19 essays by organizational leaders and activists from all over the world.

On Friday, Jan. 12, conference participants will learn about the origins of the Creative Commons Organization through a screening of the movie RIP: A Remix Manifesto.

Jeannette Vanier, a fourth-year student of biomedical sciences and team lead for Lancer Leadership Ambassadors, says she is excited to see the conference come to fruition.

“Developing the activities for the conference has allowed me to build an understanding of the creative commons and how the ownership of ideas impacts global change,” she says. “I can’t wait for my fellow students to experience the same.”

Attendance is free for UWindsor students; find a full schedule and registration form on the conference website.