When it comes to leadership, Maine is no stranger to producing exceptional ones, especially in U.S. politics.

Margaret Chase Smith, Ed Muskie, George Mitchell, William Cohen and Olympia Snowe are five former U.S. senators just to name a few.

It’s not only in politics: University of Maine civil engineering alum Francis Crowe was instrumental in the construction of the Hoover Dam during the 1930s as the project’s chief engineer and American Civil War major general Joshua Chamberlain’s famous command to fix bayonets was a pivotal moment in the Union’s victory over the Confederate Army at the Battle of Gettysburg.

The University of Maine announced a new Leadership Studies minor on March 19, which is open to all UMaine students majoring in any subject. A minimum of 18 credits is required to complete the minor along with other basic requirements found in other UMaine minor study programs.

The minor will provide students with in-depth knowledge of leadership theory, ethics, skills and context-based issues, as well as practical, experiential training applicable to nearly any area of study or social setting and prepares students for diverse, real-life experiences as citizen leaders in local, state, national and global communities, according to a poster.

Political Science professor Richard Powell, the minor’s advisor, planned and organized most of the work needed for the university to begin offering the program. Mark Brewer, also a professor of Political Science, was heavily involved in the process as well. Powell believes it will be a great fit for UMaine.

“We have a lot of courses around campus that already deal with leadership subjects so it makes sense to try and put something together for students so they can specialize in it at the minor level,” Powell said. “There are hundreds of similar programs throughout the nation at other universities so it’s something we felt was an emerging field that would be important to offer here at [UMaine].”

Powell, who also serves as advisor for UMaine’s Legal Studies minor, director of the Institute for Leadership and Democracy, director of the Peter Madigan ’81 Congressional Internship Program and Kenneth Palmar Maine State Legislative Internship Program, said inspiration for the Leadership Studies minor came from the Maine’s distinguished history of leaders.

“This wonderful list of people who’ve been very influential also tended to exercise a kind of leadership that’s different from what you find elsewhere,” Powell said. “They’re civil, thoughtful and respectful of others and are willing to sit down and talk to people that differ from them and work out agreements and compromises.”

These traits are usable and marketable, according to Powell.

“There’s a sense on campus that Maine has a model of leadership that could be a great benefit not only to students in Maine and training the next generation of leaders, but also something that would be helpful for people in other parts of the country to learn from,” Powell said.

As for current student interest, Powell said early trends look promising.

“We had student participate with us in designing the minor so we were able to get a lot of good input along the way,” Powell said. “It’s only been a week and a half since the minor was officially announced and I’ve already seen lots of expressions of interest.”

What will the Leadership Studies minor bring to campus? Well, more leadership, according to Powell.

“It has the potential to have a great impact on people in a lot of different parts of the university,” Powell said. “A lot of student groups will say, ‘Well we have these great ideas and we have a lot of people interested, but sometimes we don’t know how to lead,’ … So we’ll be able to work with student groups and hopefully get as many student leaders from different organizations involved [as possible].”

Powell believes both Army ROTC and athletics can benefit greatly from the Leadership Studies minor, especially first- and second-year students who could be future officers and captains.

Powell also emphasized the openness of the program; that any student can participate.

“You have students across campus who are learning about their own discipline, but this minor really allows them to turbo charge their major by learning how to take what they’re learning out into the real world in social situations, organizations, groups and institutions and to be able to effectively lead other people and bring those ideas into fruition,” Powell said.

The minor will not be turning into a major program any time soon, according to Powell, but there’s always a possibility down the road.

“We need to get the minor established first and see how that unfolds for few years,” Powell said. “We’re just trying to make the minor the best it can be.”

In closure, Powell debunked the myth that leaders are born.

“There’s a common misconception that great leaders are just born and they just know how to do it,” Powell said. “And yes, there are people born with certain skills and behavioral tendencies that lend themselves to being effective leaders, but leadership is really something you learn just like any other set of skills … it’s something you study, practice, develop your own capacity for and improve on.”

Core requirements for the Leadership Studies minor include four courses: LDR 100 “Foundations of Leadership,” LDR 200 “Leadership Ethics,” LDR 300 “Advanced Leadership Theory & Practice” and LDR 499 “Leadership Engagement Practicum.” LDR 100 will be offered next fall.

For more information about the Leadership Studies minor, visit umaine.edu/leadership.