On Friday, May 20, the Lois J. Swanson Leadership Resource Center will celebrate its fifth anniversary from 5-6:30 p.m. The center is located in the University Student Union, Room 313-A.

“Lois Swanson was the first woman administrator at CSULB and she was very involved in leadership,” said Jeff Klaus, director of Student Life and Development, “and this center, named after her, is focused on developing leadership opportunities for students. The celebration is the occasion for a progress report to let people know what is going on with the center.”

Those attending the celebration also will be able to see the Kay Goddard boardroom and The O'Dell Family Library, as well as other changes that have taken place in the center over the past five years.

“We want to create an environment that generates traffic so students know we have this and they can learn leadership skills here,” said Klaus. “We have found that students are thirsty for leadership training.”

In addition to marking the anniversary, the event also will recognize the initial graduating class of the Leadership Academy, which was established in September 2004. Klaus anticipates approximately 50 participants in the program will qualify for graduation. Those requirements include 25 hours of leadership training, seven required workshops, a three-hour community service project and three hours of theory to practice, and must be completed within two years of beginning the program. According to Klaus, more than 700 students initially signed up for the program and more than 300 have taken workshops.

“We want to show supporters of the center and board members that this is a new program,” said Klaus, "but not the only program that we run out of the center.”

For more information on the Lois J. Swanson Leadership Resource Center or its anniversary celebration, call 562/985-1936.