Three women students walk through campus

Ellen Wilson Leadership Center

Best-in-class, transformational leadership opportunities begin at Bryant — and impact the world.

The Ellen Wilson Leadership Center

Meghan Seligman, Assistant Director

(401) 232-6504

mseligman@bryant.edu

The Ellen Wilson Leadership Center, anchored in the new Business Entrepreneurship Leadership Center (BELC), is the epicenter of leadership initiatives at Bryant. It builds upon the college’s leadership legacy and empowers all Bryant students to explore and enrich their leadership potential in ever greater ways during their college experience and well beyond. The center’s core mission is to build extraordinary, ethical, and inclusive leaders capable of impacting the world.

The reach of the Ellen Wilson Leadership Center encompasses the entire student journey at Bryant, from high school prospects exploring their college options to the mature C-suite professional.

“In a world with a lot of smart people in leadership, courage differentiates you.” — Wilson

From academics to student life to athletics, the caliber of leaders at Bryant is indisputable. The Ellen Wilson Leadership Center spotlights — and expands — the university’s top-tier offerings and solidifies Bryant as a premier institution for educating the next generation of leaders.

For more information regarding the Ellen Wilson Leadership Center, please contact mseligman@bryant.edu.

D. Ellen Wilson '79, founder of the Ellen Wilson Women's Leadership Institute, shared her path and insights with students at Bryant in March 2022.

Key Initiatives

The Women's Leadership Institute offers leadership development opportunities to the women at Bryant University across six themes: leadership and self-reflection; empowering leadership in any situation; applied leadership at Bryant; women and leadership; giving back through mentoring; and developing leadership for professional roles in certain industries.

The women at Bryant are extraordinary leaders and the Women’s Leadership Institute is where they can explore and expand their potential. Given the unique challenges women leaders face, the Women's Leadership Institute is a hub where women can find comradery and support to recognize their value and realize their full potential.

The Ellen Wilson Leadership Fellows will spend time during their four years at Bryant learning about leadership from faculty, leaders in residence, alumni mentors, their peers, and staff. This is a transformative opportunity to help shape their long-term path after Bryant – to be part of a community that focuses on leadership as a subject and on developing strong, bold, inclusive ethical leaders for the future.

To help them achieve their leadership goals, each Wilson Fellow will receive a $5,000 stipend to use over their four years at Bryant. The stipend will fund leadership growth opportunities such as conferences, academic research, unpaid internships, and study abroad programs. The goals of the program are to support a sense of confidence, empowerment, and belonging at Bryant; to enable the pursuit of greater leadership opportunities; to build confidence in the classroom and a stronger sense of self-knowledge; and to help students apply their growing leadership skills to a variety of situations and life experiences.

In addition to the programs noted above, the Ellen Wilson Leadership Center will offer:

rich co-curricular programming, such as book groups and author seminars;
experiential opportunities and learning labs;
an annual Undergraduate Leaders' Summit;
robust Leader in Residence program;
mentorship matching and networking; and
undergraduate research opportunities.

What is a Wilson Fellow?

The Wilson Fellow program awards $5,000 stipends annually to 20 incoming first-year students who show strong leadership skills or an interest in building skills. In addition to expanded leadership opportunities, Wilson Fellows receive the benefit of an alumni mentor who supports them in their college journey.

What is a Wilson Fellow?

Two students sit at a desk and discuss an assignment at the Quinlan / Brown Academic Innovation Center at Bryant University.

A Lifetime of Impact

A student receives her diploma during commencement exercises at Bryant University.

A Lifetime of Impact

The Ellen Wilson Leadership Center supports and promotes leadership initiatives across campus, working closely with academic and student life partners to deliver a top-tier, in-depth experience. The outcome is alumnae who set the highest standards both personally and professionally, furthering Bryant’s ethical, values-based leadership legacy.

About Founder D. Ellen Wilson '79

Ellen Wilson’s career includes executive roles at UnitedHealth Group, Optum, and Fidelity Investments, among others. She is the Chair of Bryant’s Board of Trustees, sharing her considerable experience in values-based leadership with the broader Bryant community. The Ellen Wilson Leadership Center will make its home in the Business Entrepreneurship Leadership Center in fall 2024.