CLI Current Awards

Connection, reflection, and shared leadership for our campus.

The Center for Practical Ethics and the Lott Leadership Institute are pleased to invite staff members from across the University of Mississippi to apply for CLI Stewards, a year‑long professional development community for academic year 2026-2027. This program is designed with staff in mind—recognizing the essential role you play in the life and stability of the university, and offering dedicated time and space to reflect, learn, and connect with colleagues across campus. Thanks to generous grant funding and support from the Office of the Chancellor, all program expenses (program materials, luncheons, lectures, workshops, etc.) are fully covered.

CLI Stewards brings together staff from a wide range of roles and units to form a supportive cohort committed to personal and professional growth. The year-long collection of programming focused on ethical leadership and the virtues in the UM Creed provides the opportunity to strengthen communication, collaboration, and conflict-resolution skills.

 Programming is intentionally scheduled to fit into the rhythms of staff work lives, with most sessions held during lunch hours, late afternoons, or after work. Over the course of the year (approximately 20 total hours), CLI Stewards participate together in a mix of workshops, lunches, discussions, and shared learning experiences.

Fall Semester 2026

·      Workshop: UM Creed, Exemplars, and the Moral Virtues

·      Luncheon Presentation: Civic Virtues and the UM Creed

·      Luncheon Presentation: Intellectual Virtues and the UM Creed

·      Luncheon Presentation: Opportunities for Leadership

·      Film Screening: The Philosopher Kings

Spring Semester 2027

·      Workshop: Conflict Resolution

·      Speaker: Developing Character as Professionals

·      Reading Group: The Excellent Mind: Intellectual Virtues for Everyday Life

·      Luncheon Presentation: Interpersonal Dynamics

·      Nathan King on The Excellent Mind: Intellectual Virtues for Everyday Life

·      CLI Community Luncheon (all cohorts and awardees from 2025-2027)

CLI Stewards will receive a copy of The Excellent Mind: Intellectual Virtues for Everyday Life and participate in a reading group that fosters reflection, conversation, and mutual support throughout the year.

CLI Stewards is open to all staff categories, including exempt, hourly, and administrative employees. Staff members from the same unit—and even supervisors and staff together—are welcome to apply. We encourage multiple applicants from a single unit and see this as an opportunity to strengthen shared leadership cultures.

Applicants should talk with their direct supervisor about the opportunity and schedule (see the CLI Stewards Schedule of Events), and secure their support. The Supervisor Form can be completed online and by the supervisor themselves (suggestion: email your supervisor the link), or can be printed, filled out, scanned, and uploaded as part of the staff member’s application.

Previous CLI Exemplar Award, Community Award, and Vision Award winners are especially encouraged to apply. Staff who complete the year-long programming are eligible to receive a LinkedIn badge from the Character of Leaders Initiative at UM, and the opportunity to take specific courses linked to the CLI in future years.

Application Deadline: May 29th

Notification of Selection: June 15th

Materials and details about the fall workshop (the first event of the 2026-2027 academic year) will be distributed to all fellowship recipients after July 1.

Connection, reflection, and shared leadership for our campus. Apply now to join this campus-wide initiative on the UM Creed, character, and leadership.

For questions or more information, please contact ethics@olemiss.edu