Leadership Institute

The Leadership Institute was founded in 1979 by Morton C. Blackwell, and is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia that teaches "political technology." [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/11/politics/11CONS.html?ex=1132894800&en=3de398df609ca884&ei=5070] The Institute's mission is to "identify, train, recruit and place conservatives in politics, government, and media" through a variety of programs offered at the Institute's Arlington headquarters or at its many training seminars held around the United States, and occasionally in foreign countries. In 2007, the Institute trained 6,787 people in 470 training programs of 39 types. As of August 2008, the Leadership Institute had trained more than 62,000 students. During the fall of 2006, its Campus Leadership Program sent out 60 field representatives to help conservative students create independent campus groups. In February 2008, the Institute published a directory of 1,015 active campus groups currently in its Campus Leadership Program; 203 of those groups were published conservative campus newspapers or magazines.

A Non-Partisan Organization

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the Leadership Institute is required by law to remain non-partisan. Thus the Institute cannot endorse or support any party or candidate, though it is free to be philosophically conservative. The Institute's founder and president, Morton Blackwell, is very active in the Republican Party as an RNC member from Virginia since 1988, but the Leadership Institute carefully guards its non-partisan status, which is partially dependent upon the organization "not supporting or advocating the election of any candidate for federal, state, or local office." (Although Blackwell was known to have supported the election of Paul Gourley in an election for College Republican National Committee Chairman and sent a letter of endorsement in an election for chairman of the Young Republican National Committee, these are Blackwell's personal actions and they are not "federal, state, or local offices," and his involvement in these races would not affect LI's tax-exempt status.)

Leadership Institute training sessions and leadership schools are open to students regardless of party registration. The instructors, though typically conservative, use examples and anecdotes from multiple political parties and all points on the political spectrum. Its revenue comes mostly from donors acquired through direct mail. Its 2007 revenue was $11.9 million, Morton Blackwell, the Institute's president, claims that it does not teach political ideology per se. In fact, one of the institute's teachers in the 1990's told his classes that Bill Clinton's skills as a communicator were greater than those of Ronald Reagan, the 'Great Communicator.' Many of the students agree with this observation and see the 'technology' as being politically neutral. Student Leslie Quillen, 22, said "If we can use the technology from the other side to convey the message that we sincerely believe, that is when we will win. A recent letter (May 7, 2005) sent to potential donors came with the signature of J.C. Watts, a Republican representative from Oklahoma. The letter said that liberal media bias is out of control and something needs to be done about it.

Philosophy and curriculum

While the Institute does not provide instruction in philosophical conservatism, it does encourage its graduates to read classic conservative authors like Edmund Burke and Frederic Bastiat, as well as more recent conservative thinkers including William F. Buckley Jr., Milton Friedman, Russell Kirk, Barry Goldwater, and F. A. Hayek.

The Leadership Institute teaches 39 different types of classes and seminars using its own curriculum. Class content varies from teaching how to create a campus newsletter to political activism (i.e. grassroots activism) to professional training and development (i.e. broadcast journalism). The Institute's website lists its schools and other services.

International Training

The Institute has developed an interest in training students internationally, and has been active in the creation of similar Institutes in Greece, Chile, Poland, France, the U.K., Korea, Canada, and Japan.

References

New York Times article [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/11/politics/11CONS.html?ex=1132894800&en=3de398df609ca884&ei=5070]

ee also

External links

*The Leadership Institute website: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org