Senator Bo Watson has been selected to participate in the 2011 Emerging Leaders Program, sponsored by the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.

This prestigious program is held every year on the campus of the University of Virginia for a select group of state legislators who have been nominated by the Speaker of the House, President of the Senate or Minority Leader from their state. Leaders are asked to nominate one or more members who by their actions have demonstrated those qualities we associate with leadership—integrity, compassion, intelligence, vision, and common sense.

The goal of this program is to inspire these men and women to continued careers in public service. Class discussions will examine qualities and characteristics of leadership including: ethical leadership, the art of compromise and coalition building and the philosophical underpinnings of representative democracy. The discussions will be lead by Professor Ed Freeman, the Elis and Signe Olsson Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School and co-director of the Olsson Center for Applied Ethics. A distinguished UVA faculty along with Dr. Thomas Little, Curriculum Director of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, will join Dr. Freeman.

Senator Watson is one of only fifty state legislators chosen from a nationwide pool of over 200 outstanding nominees.

As Stephen G. Lakis, President of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, has noted “These legislators represent the best and the brightest, and are destined for future leadership roles in their state. After being with these people for several days, you can’t help but feel proud and more confident about our unique system of representative democracy. They are just that good!” 

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