McKenna Centre Mission

At the grand opening of the Frank McKenna Centre for Leadership in 2011, Frank McKenna stressed that “the Centre isn't bringing leadership to St.FX; it is bringing a Centre to a university that has a long history of leadership.” Since then, the McKenna Centre has offered leadership opportunities across all disciplines to the St.FX community. We are dedicated to fostering and funding student leadership initiatives, and to providing opportunities and the resources that will allow tomorrow’s leaders to flourish.

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In keeping with StFX’s commitment to social justice and socially engaged education, the Frank McKenna Centre for Leadership champions courageous ideas, fosters pioneering solutions, and supports socially engaged, transformative research and education. We believe that every student has the capacity to become a leader. Our goal is to provide the skills and support for students to engage with university life beyond the classroom, and to assist students in the development of bold, innovative, and creative solutions to the most pressing problems of our time. We are here to provide skills training, opportunities for professionalization, as well as financial support for all students. We believe that the ideas, opinions, and passions of students are crucial to the enrichment of the intellectual landscape at St.FX and to the improvement of our society. At the Frank McKenna Centre, we create opportunities and resources that encourage all students to develop bold, new ideas and to discover their own potential as transformative leaders.

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We are dedicated to educating and supporting future leaders who work to create positive change in a wide variety of fields. Consequently, we do not limit our idea of leadership training to specialized, small groups. Instead, we understand leadership training as an integral part of StFX’s commitment to providing all students who strive to make a difference in the world and who wish to create change in their chosen fields with the skills and tools that they need in order to become future leaders.

Leadership training at the McKenna Centre is inclusive. We are committed to providing all students with the skills and tools they require in order to become the future leaders our world needs. We understand that leadership comes in many forms, and we strive to support and empower not only traditional leaders but also those students who would not readily think of themselves as leaders but who are quietly brimming with potential and brilliant ideas. Social change and important solutions are brought about by a combination of both the direct actions of outspoken leaders as well as the efforts of quiet, indirect leaders. At the McKenna Centre, we insist on the importance of inclusive leadership training for all students, and we support the work of both traditional and non-traditional leaders. We therefore welcome all students who are looking for help in developing ideas and projects. Inclusive leadership training means helping you discover the form of leadership that is best suited to your goals.