Faculty Support

From day one Sapphire students will become immersed into a comprehensive leadership development experience through their direct interaction with the Sapphire Faculty Director and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education, as well as Faculty Advisers and Program Coordinators. They will strategically work with each student throughout their business degree program. The individualized faculty support will set students on a fast-track to developing their leadership abilities through active engagement in group collaboration, communication, and strategic project planning & implementation. Further, Sapphire students will have the unique opportunity to be exclusively taught by the Faculty and Staff Advisers for their First Year Seminar in the fall of their first year, and the Leadership Development Seminar in the fall of their Sophomore or Junior year. In these classes, Sapphire students will examine the many facets of Penn State, the Smeal College of Business, and will begin the evolution of their leadership transformation. Further, the faculty will be intimately involved in assisting the Sapphire student in effectively choosing an appropriate leadership project (to be fully proposed by the Sapphire student by the end of the fall semester of their Sophomore year or end of the fall semester of their Junior year, depending on when they enter the program) that both fits their interests and meets the expectations and rigors of the Sapphire Leadership program.

Dr. Augustus B. Colangelo Associate Dean, Undergraduate Education Faculty Director, The Sapphire Leadership Program