
Projects and Events
Upcoming Events
Past Events
Insight + Impact Transformational Leadership Conference
To celebrate the first five years of the program, the Lockheed Martin Leadership Institute will be hosting its first ever Transformational Leadership Conference. The conference will share insights on a new kind of transformational leadership development for a new kind of world.
The conference will be held at Miami University from Friday, March 31st 2017 through Saturday, April 1st 2017. Conference attendees include Leadership Institute alumni and current students and leaders in business, industry, and government.
Notable speakers at the conference include Miami University President Gregory Crawford, and Jeffrey J. Wilcox, Vice President for Engineering and Operations for Lockheed Martin.
Jeff Wilcox is Vice President for Engineering and Program Operations for Lockheed Martin. Previously, Mr. Wilcox served as Vice President for Corporate Engineering. Throughout his career, Mr. Wilcox has led several critical initiatives for Lockheed Martin, including the development and implementation of enterprise-wide systems and software engineering processes, tools, technology and training with special emphasis on complex, software-intensive systems. Mr. Wilcox is an adjunct professor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Before beginning as Miami University’s 22nd president July 1, 2016, Dr. Gregory P. Crawford was vice president and associate provost at University of Notre Dame, where he led that school's efforts to develop a presence in California. He worked to expand career services, internships, and employment opportunities for Notre Dame undergraduates, recruiting students, enhancing fundraising, and establishing California- based courses and programs. Dr. Crawford joined Notre Dame's faculty in 2008, serving as the William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science. As dean, he oversaw the founding of the department of applied and computational mathematics and statistics, the recruitment of more than 60 faculty and the planning and fundraising for significant new ventures such as the Warren Family Research Center for Drug Discovery and Development. He earned bachelor's (mathematics and physics), master's (physics), and doctorate (chemical physics) degrees from Kent State University. President Crawford is an advocate of inclusive excellence, openness, and shared governance.
Embracing Change Summit
In this world of ever-accelerating change, leaders must continuously learn, adapt, and cultivate an open mind to ensure that their organizations are fueling the future.
When our students selected Embracing Change in the fall of 2019 as the topic for this spring 2020 summit, none of us realized that in a few short months the world would be hurled into urgent and unprecedented change because of COVID-19.
While other campus events were being cancelled due to the pandemic, the students in cohort 8 of the Lockheed Martin Leadership Institute truly embraced their subject matter and rose to the challenge. Within just a few weeks, the summit transitioned from an in-person event held on campus to a virtual offering available to the world.
The Embracing Change Summit was held virtually on April 17, 2020 with 150+ virtual attendees!
The summit featured an excellent keynote on diversity and inclusion by Julie Elberfeld, the Senior Vice President, Card Technology, and Executive Sponsor of Diversity and Inclusion for Technology at Capital One.
Additionally, it offered recorded talks from our junior cohort members, interviews with some of our alumni who are now making a difference all over the globe, and a virtual Q&A with Julie Elberfeld following the summit.
Listen4Insight
In conjunction with the 2015-16 campus-wide Miamideas initiative inspiring creativity + innovation, the Lockheed Martin Leadership Institute students created an ambitious new project called Listen4Insight.
Leadership Institute students interviewed a variety of leaders to learn how innovation and creativity shaped their leadership style and contributed to their career. These learnings are made available virtually via podcasts on a website so the insights are available to a broad audience.
A grant from the P&G Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation helps to provide funding for this project and marks the third time in four years a grant from the P&G Fund has been awarded to the Lockheed Martin Leadership Institute.
Some of those featured on the podcasts include former Miami President David Hodge; Nicole Smith, NASA; and Emmy award-winning producer and National Broadcasting Hall of Fame Member, Dr. Jim Friedman. To hear these podcasts or check out the complete list of podcasts visit www.listen4insight.com.
Start the Trend Challenge
NEF Gen came to Miami University for a 2015 Engineers Week event. NEF Generation (a branch of National Engineering Forum specifically targeting the next generation of engineers) partnered with the Lockheed Martin Leadership Institute students at Miami University to host an innovation challenge.
Start the Trend: The Change Begins With You was a brand new one-day event that took place on February 21, 2015 and was designed to get student teams involved in developing ideas that will effect real change in the engineering culture. Teams of 3-5 focused on women and diversity in engineering or engagement and retention of college-aged students in engineering. All majors were invited to participate.
Engineers Week is a success every year and this challenge fostered more innovation and creativity than ever before!
Lockheed Martin Leadership Institute students created a video about why they are doing the START THE TREND innovation challenge.





Engineers Week 2015
“Maker” Documentary
“Maker” is a feature documentary looking into the maker movement in America reforming the economy with a new wave of Do-It-Yourself and Do-It-Together. The film explores the ideas, tools, and personalities that are driving the Maker Movement and returns with a timely snapshot of one of the transforming influences of the current age. All students and faculty were invited to attend the showing as part of Engineers Week.
Why Engineering Matters
Linda Harty, treasurer at Medtronics, Inc., gave a speech that focused on the importance of engineering in today’s world stemming from her unique background in finance. Ms. Harty has worked for many large engineering companies in the past including Parker-Hannifin and Cardinal Health.
Women in Engineering
Starting at the Eastman Kodak Company as an engineer, Dr. Kathleen Buse has worked in various technical and management roles for more than 25 years. Her research on STEM women has been framed by her practical experience in technology-driven and male-dominated organizations.
Her Engineers Week presentation concluded with practical recommendations for changing undergraduate education, developing specific skills in STEM women and for changes within STEM organizations.