Melanie Humphreys, Ph.D., knows a thing or two about leadership. After all, the newly appointed President of The Kings University College in Edmonton, AB, is an alumna of the first-ever Master of Arts in Leadership cohort at TWU. Now Humphreys—who has spent the past 14 years living and serving in the higher education sector outside of Canada—is set to return to the TWU campus as an alumni speaker at the 2013 Leadership Forum on Monday, July 29.
The 2013 Leadership Forum—which features keynote speakers John Izzo and Brian Fraser, as well as Humphreys and fellow alumni speakers Trevor Connor, Ron Pike, and Haiyan Yu—is geared toward all leaders, from business, to education, to Christian ministry and beyond, and is presented by TWU’s MA Leadership program.
Established in 1999 by then-professor Don Page, Ph.D., the MA in Leadership is based on the model of transformational servant leadership. The program, which draws students from around the world, offers leaders a focused, integrated, and applied learning experience. “Its servant-leadership model and philosophy were a good fit for how I wanted to work with a team,” Humphreys said.
Humphreys continues to study leadership. Her own philosophy is that of leadership as a collaborative process—one of the MA Lead program’s core values. “When team members engage around shared vision and values,” she said, “together they can affect real change. Collaborative leadership is far more powerful than trying to do things in isolation.
Humphreys has a heart to see students succeed and contribute to their communities. A couple of years after completing her undergraduate degree in English and Philosophy at TWU, Humphreys served as a Resident Director. “It was a very challenging, formative time,” she said. “We had a big vision in terms of helping students discover where they needed to be in their lives.”
While still in that role, Humphreys was offered the opportunity to serve as Dean of Students and VP of Student Life at LCC International University in Lithuania, but knew she needed to find a program that would help her prepare for the new role. The then-fledgling MA Lead program had just launched, so she enrolled. Humphreys credits the program for increasing her belief in her own leadership skills. “It gave me the confidence to step into more formal leadership roles,” she said.
After a 10-year stint at LCC, Humphreys spent four years as Dean of Student Care and Student Services at Wheaton College before accepting her current role. “It all comes back to the faithfulness of God,” she said. “Each step has required a little bit more: more faith, more stretch. God’s faithfulness has enabled me to take bigger and bigger challenges.”
Go here to register for the 2013 Leadership Forum, or for more information visit the website, email lead@twu.ca or call 604.513.2172.