A new student organization at The University of Tulsa is giving students direct access to leadership lessons that rarely fit inside a textbook.
The recently launched Management Club in the Collins College of Business was created to connect students with real-world experience through guest speakers, networking, site visits and conversations with professionals actively heading teams and organizations. The club is open to all students interested in leadership, business operations and career growth.
For faculty adviser Nathan Woolard, who serves as UTulsa’s John Robert “Cy” Elmburg Endowed Excellence Fund in Business Chair, the idea began with student demand.
“Management majors were asking for more applied exposure beyond the classroom,” Woolard said. “There was a clear gap between theory and how leadership and management actually show up in real organizations.”
He said the club is designed to complement classroom learning by exposing students to the tradeoffs, uncertainty and decision-making that define leadership in practice.
“Leadership is rarely black and white,” Woolard said. “Most big decisions live in the gray.”
Club President Heavyn Harris of Tulsa said the organization also fills an important community need for students in a broad major that can lead in many directions. “Management can be a difficult path because it’s not necessarily one specific thing,” she said. “Building those connections is instrumental.”
Harris, a management major with a minor in arts, culture and entertainment management, said one of the club’s biggest priorities is helping students build confidence and relationships beyond campus through smaller, more personal networking opportunities. “Please get off campus and talk to people,” she said. “It’s so important.”
Planned programming includes guest speakers, lunch-and-learn events, site visits and collaborations with community organizations. Early speakers included leaders from Arrowhead Consultants, QuikTrip and Publicis, giving students direct access to professionals they may not otherwise meet during college.
Woolard said that access is central to the club’s purpose. “The club is not meant to be a resume line or a passive membership group,” he said. “It is a bridge.”
For Harris, success is simple: helping students leave better prepared than they arrived. “The club’s mission,” she said, “is to set future leaders in business up for success.”