The vitality of every community depends upon the quality of leadership that exists among its citizens. Too often, those destined for leadership within their organizations are not encouraged early enough in their careers to use their leadership abilities to help improve their communities.
In keeping with Rotary International's credo of “Service Above Self,” the Rotary Club of Louisville has created the Rotary Leadership Fellows program.
Its purpose is to identify potential community leaders, early in their careers, and to involve them in a formal, three year Rotary leadership development program. Candidates will come from the MBA/IMBA program at the University of Louisville's College of Business.
In publicly accepting the award, recipients agree to:
- achieve their MBA degree at the University of Louisville
- participate as an honorary Rotarian in the Rotary Leadership Fellows program for three years
- participate in regular meetings of the Fellows for three years
- attend Rotary meetings and participate in Rotary activities as their schedules permit
- prepare written reports on their development following years one and two
- make an oral presentation to the Rotary Club of Louisville assessing their development--and the quality of the program--following completion of their third year.
The Award
This program originated in 1996 as The Landrum Prize for Leadership. It was underwritten entirely by Rotarian Baylor Landrum, Jr. and his family. They also arranged for mentoring and counseling of the recipients.
In 2001, The Rotary Club of Louisville saw an opportunity to exercise its mission of service and to expand the experiences and accelerate the development of the award recipients.
In partnership with the Landrum family, the Rotary Club created the Rotary Leadership Fellows program to honor annual recipients and to provide them with mentoring and networking opportunities.
Each Fellow will receive $2,500 upon selection and will be awarded an additional $2,500 upon completion of the program and with the endorsement of a designated Rotary Leadership Fellows committee.
The awards will be funded by the Landrum family and administered by The Rotary Club of Louisville through its Rotary Fund.
The Criteria
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Each year, two MBA students or recent MBA graduates are awarded $5,000 each to participate in a mentoring program with Rotary International members. The goal of the program is to involve young business people in Louisville’s civic and community affairs early in their careers and to provide valuable networking within the Downtown Rotary Club of Louisville.
Key Dates for 2009 are:
Deadline for nominations: Friday, March 13, 2009
Reception for Nominees: Monday, March 23, 2009
Interviews/Fellows Selection Day: Friday, March 27, 2009
Honors/Awards Day Presentation: Wednesday, April 22, 2009
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A Rotary Club of Louisville selection committee will interview the nominees, focusing on:
- Integrity
- Creativity
- Accomplishments
- Communication skills
- Evidence of leadership
- Sense of community
Nominees must be:
- University of Louisville MBA/IMBA students graduating within 6 months of March 1 of the selection year. This range includes August of the previous year to September of the selection year. (For 2009 selection, this includes August 2008 through Sept. 2009.)
- Nominated by a professor in the College of Business AND/OR their employer
- Committed to fulfilling the three-year requirements of the Fellows program
Nomination Process and Selection Timing
Nominations must include:
- Letter of endorsement from a College of Business faculty member AND/OR a letter of endorsement from your employer
- One-page letter from the nominee explaining his/her interest in, and commitment to, serving the community
- Biographical sketch or resume
Nomination materials must be submitted to the college's Rotary Leadership Fellows coordinator, Tom Peterson. All applicants are encouraged to visit or talk with Mr. Peterson before submitting their one-page letter. Phone: 852-1518, or
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The Rotary Leadership Fellows committee will evaluate the submitted nominations and interview nominees, making selections within 48 hours of the interviews.
The Fellows selected each year will be presented to the Rotary Club of Louisville membership at a regularly scheduled meeting.
Note: Implied with the submission of nomination materials is the approval for the committee to interview anyone, or obtain records, that could be pertinent to the selection process.
Rotary Club of Louisville
The Club, founded in 1912, is the 45th oldest Club in the world. Today, with approximately 500 members, the Club is one of the 15 largest in Rotary International. Worldwide there are almost 30,000 Clubs and more than 1.2 million Rotarians.
The Rotary Club of Louisville is devoted to community-wide service and philanthropy. Each year it provides more than $60,000 in funding to numerous worthy organizations. It has committees devoted to such interests as the disabled, the aging, education, youth, safety/health/environment, rural/urban issues, international understanding, and international humanitarian efforts.
Previous Recipients
2008
Divya Cantor, MD and David Anstey
2007
Aimee Boyd and Erica Hissong
2006
Garry Cronin and Stuart Steinbock
2005
Brian Veeneman and James Watkins, II
2004
Delford Cofield and Theresa Zortman
2003
Mark Rorer and Joshua Houlette
2002
John Broyles and David Page
2001
Leigh Bowen Lowe and Barbara Lankford
2000
Albert Bissmeyer and Deborah Wray
1999
Nesela Kulenovic and Timothy Harper
1998
Susan Viers Gilliland and Teresa Lipscomb
1997
Kelly Kitchen and Aaron Flaker
Rotary Leadership Fellows Program 
