IA Members Recognized with ‘Leadership for Public Purpose’ Classification by Carnegie Foundation

Imagining America celebrates its members who are recipients of the newly instated ‘Leadership for Public Purpose’ (LPP) classification made by the Carnegie Foundation:

Fort Hays State University (Hays, Kansas), IA’s newest member, and

University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio), IA’s 2025 National Gathering host.

The LPP responds to the question: What would an institution that is committed to leadership for public purpose look like, act like, and be like?, and recognizes those institutions that have committed to campus-wide efforts to advance leadership in pursuit of public goods like justice, equity, diversity, and liberty.

As one of the nine founding institutions of the LPP, Fort Hays State University was involved in a pilot program (with the Doerr Institute of New Leaders at Rice University), to establish a national cohort to discern the utility of the new framework in order to launch the first cycle.

FHSU and UC are part of an inaugural cohort of 25 institutions across the country that have received this elective classification*.

* The Carnegie Elective Classifications are recognitions earned by institutions that have made extraordinary commitments to their public purpose. Institutions apply for recognition from the Carnegie Foundation through a particular Elective Classification theme and make extraordinary commitments to that theme. There are currently 2 Elective Classifications for which institutions can apply: the Elective Classification for Community Engagement and the Elective Classification for Leadership for Public Purpose. Learn more here.

Banner Image Credit: UC Warren Bennis Leadership Institute 2023-24 student team. Photo/UC Warren Bennis Leadership Institute.