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“There are behaviors, characteristics, and roles of leadership these students need to make themselves more effective at influencing people down the road,” said RLI Director and Loehr Professor of Mechanical Engineering David Bayless. “We don’t turn them into CEOs or leaders—although they’ve got that kind of potential. We give them the tools, and a real framework.”

Robe Leadership Institute students are doers. They participate in roundtables with distinguished alumni, network with tech CEOs, and participate in an annual Shark Tank-style competition: the ECO Challenge. Bayless and Dan Squiller, BSEE ’79, designed it to simulate an intense, real-world team setting.

The scholars form teams with students from other OHIO leadership programs, then work to mitigate a sustainability issue on campus. The 2017 winners proposed reusable to-go food containers to replace disposable ones.

“It was the first time we were in a cross-functional team. [It was] cool because we’re used to working with engineers, and we work a lot differently than business students,” said RLI student Austin Rehmar. “I think RLI helped us step up, delegate, and lead a little bit. Being aware of the characteristics of a leader really helped.”