McDonald Conference for Leaders of Character
McDonald Conference for Leaders of Character
McDonald Conference for Leaders of Character (MCLC)
The mission of the McDonald Conference for Leaders of Character (MCLC) is to bring together a diverse group of the top undergraduate student leaders from across the globe with world class senior leaders who act as mentors in a team-based, experiential event that bolsters leadership skills, fosters critical thinking and collaboration, and develops potential strategies for addressing pressing global issues.
MCLC History
The McDonald Conference for Leaders of Character began in 2012 with the vision of being the premier transformative, short-duration leadership experience for young, emerging global leaders who unite together with preeminent world leaders in an enduring partnership. The annual conference is made possible by the vision and resources of founding benefactors Secretary & Mrs. Robert McDonald and is supported by a kind gift from the Garrison and Sharman families. The conference has been hosted each year by the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership. Since its inception, the event has touched the lives of over 600 students and senior leaders through its exploration of relevant and timely themes.
Past Conference Themes
- 2023 - Influence Without Authority: Following, Leading Peers and Inspiring from an Entry Level
- 2022 - Pursuing Purpose: Leading with Character in your 20s
- 2021 - MCLC Reconnection 2021
- 2019 - Leading with Character in a Technology Driven World
- 2018 - Making Ripples: Character, Ideas, and Teams
- 2017 - Opposition & Innovation: Taking Risks to Lead Change
- 2016 - From Failure to Inspiration and Change
- 2015 - Cross-Cultural Competence
- 2013 - Responsibility
- 2012 - Leading in an Interconnected World
Benefactors
Bob McDonald
MCLC Founding Benefactor 8th Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs
Retired Chairman, President, and CEO, Proctor & Gamble
Robert A. “Bob” McDonald was nominated by President Obama to serve as the eighth Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), and he was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate on July 29, 2014. Secretary McDonald led VA in its ambitious transformational journey to be a world-class service provider and the number 1 customer-service agency in the Federal government to give Veterans consistent, high-quality experiences.
Diane McDonald
MCLC Founding Benefactor
Diane (pronounced Dee-Ann) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Upon graduation from Chatham College, she taught elementary school and coached high school sports where her passion was working with children.
Soon after Bob joined P&G, they had the opportunity to live abroad—in Canada, the Philippines, Japan, and Brussels. At each location Diane played a leadership role in the P&G community, in her children’s schools and in their activities. She was a Girl and Boy Scout leader, home room mother, PTA officer, Sunday school teacher, American Women’s Club member and P&G spouse support group leader, among other roles.
Senior Fellows
Seema Hingorani
Managing Director, Morgan Stanley Founder, Girls Who Invest
Seema R. Hingorani is a Managing Director and Strategic Client and Talent Engagement Lead at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM). She is also a member of the Investment Management Operating Committee, Chair of the Senior Advisory Board of Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, a Senior Sponsor of Investment Management’s Diversity Council and a member of Morgan Stanley’s Diversity and Inclusion Senior Leaders Advisory Council. As part of the MSIM senior leadership team, Seema is focused on strategic client relationships, investment talent development and diversity initiatives across the platform. Seema joined Morgan Stanley in 2019 and has 28 years of investment experience.
MG (Ret) Suzanne Puananu Vares-Lum
President, East-West Center Honalulu, Hawai’i
Suzanne (Suzy) Puanani Vares-Lum took office as President of the East-West Center in January 2022. She launched a new strategic plan that advances the Center’s Congressionally-mandated mission to promote understanding and relationships among people and nations of the United States, Asia, and Pacific through cooperative study, research, and dialogue. The Center, in Manoa, Hawai’i and Washington D.C., develops and equips a network of international leaders to become the future changemakers.
Leslie T. Fenwick
Dr. Leslie T. Fenwick, PhD, is Dean Emeritus of the Howard University School of Education and a tenured professor of educational policy and leadership. A former Visiting Scholar and Visiting Fellow at Harvard University, Fenwick has served as a Senior Fellow for the McDonald Character Leadership Conference at the United States Military Academy at West Point since 2017. Additionally, she is a Salzburg Global Fellow (the cohort was convened in Salzburg, Austria to examine globalization and leadership) and a member of the American cohort of university administrators invited to the University of Oxford (Exeter College) to discuss ethics and leadership. Dr. Fenwick is recipient of the WEB DuBois Award for Leadership in Higher Education which recognizes those who exemplify character leadership.
H. Patrick Swygert
H. Patrick Swygert is President Emeritus of Howard University and the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany and former Executive Vice President of Temple University. Recipient of nine honorary doctorate degrees, Mr. Swygert began his career in higher education at Temple University where he was a Law School professor and Interim Dean of the Law School.
Amanda Bennett
Chief Executive Officer, U.S. Agency for Global Media U.S. Agency For Global Media
Amanda Bennett is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, investigative journalist and editor and was named Director of the Voice of America in March 2016. Through 2013, she was Executive Editor, Bloomberg News, where she created and ran a global team of investigative reporters and editors. She was also co-founder of Bloomberg News’ Women’s project. She was editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer from June 2003 to November 2006, and prior to that was editor of the Herald-Leader in Lexington, Kentucky. She also served for three years as managing editor/projects for The Oregonian in Portland. Bennett served as a Wall Street Journal reporter for more than 20 years. A graduate of Harvard College, she held numerous posts at the Journal, including auto industry reporter in Detroit in the late 70s and early 80s, Pentagon and State Department reporter, Beijing correspondent, management editor/ reporter, national economics correspondent and, finally, chief of the Atlanta bureau until 1998, when she moved to The Oregonian.
Dave Shula
Former NFL Head Coach
Coach Dave Shula has had a distinguished playing and coaching career in the National Football League and the National Collegiate Athletics Association. Most recently, he was the Assistant Football Coach for Wide Receivers at Dartmouth College from 2018 until his retirement after the 2024 season. During his tenure as assistant coach, Dartmouth College won three Ivy League titles.
Lyal White, PhD
Founder, Contextual Intelligence, Senior Research Associate at Gordon Institute of Business Science, South Africa
Professor Lyal White is the founder of research and advisory practice Contextual Intelligence, faculty at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), University of Pretoria, and a Research Associate with the Brenthurst Foundation. In his personal capacity Lyal partners on various education intiatives from Edtech solutions for small businesses in low-income communities to leadership development and dialogues around the globe.
Holly Ridings
Deputy Manager Gateway Program Johnson Space Center NASA
Ms. Ridings currently serves as the Gateway Program Deputy Manager, sharings responsibility with the Program Manager for implementation of the Gateway Program’s goals and objectives, ensuring consistency with the Agency’s exploration strategy and delivering the Gateway system within technical and programmatic requirements. She shares responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Gateway Program, including recommending and implementing program policy and directing the Program’s development, test, production, and operations activities. She manages NASA, contractor, private industry and international partner contributions.
Jay Sidhu
Chief Executive Officer of Customers Bancorp, Inc.
Mr. Sidhu serves as Chief Executive Officer of Customers Bancorp, Inc., and Executive Chairman of Customers Bank. When Mr. Sidhu joined Customers Bank in 2009, previously known as New Century Bank, the company was a $250 million asset-troubled bank. Today, it is a high performing bank with over $21 billion in assets providing a range of banking and lending services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, individuals, and families.
Amy C. Edmondson, PhD
Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School
Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, a chair established to support the study of human interactions that lead to the creation of successful enterprises that contribute to the betterment of society.