Audio & Transcripts

We’re continually adding to our collection of more than 40 oral history interview audio files and transcripts. Each narrator gives a unique, in-depth perspective on leadership based on his or her background.

Imhotep Adisa
An Indianapolis native who combines entrepreneurship with community activism, having co-founded the Kheprw Institute, a nonprofit addressing youth empowerment and community challenges.

Dennis Bland
The president of the Center of Leadership Development is driven by a concern for the plight of African American youth and community.

Juana Bordas
A motivational speaker, author, and community activist with a passion for Hispanic and multicultural leadership, women, and civil rights.

Otis Bowen
A former governor of Indiana talks about practicing medicine, entering the state and national political arenas, and being a professor at IU.

Myles Brand
The 16th president of Indiana University and one-time head of the NCAA talks about his love of learning and how a philosopher exercises leadership.

Joanne Ciulla
A pioneer in the field of leadership ethics. Her research on the ethical challenges of leadership is interdisciplinary but draws heavily on literature in philosophy and history.

Richard Couto
A leadership scholar talks about the essential qualities of a leader and how complexity keeps humanity moving forward.

Max De Pree
A former Herman Miller CEO talks about the art of leadership and establishing the company as a design leader.

Alice Eagly
A social psychologist discusses how following her interests—rather than the crowd—shaped her career and her status as an intellectual leader.

Tom Ehrlich
The 15th president of Indiana University talks about his experiences in various leadership roles and the importance of prioritizing goals.

Paulette Fair
Co-founder of the Kheprw Institute in Indianapolis, she has a passion for empowering black youth to succeed academically and gain valuable life skills that will serve them and their community into adulthood.

Fred Fiedler
A psychology researcher discusses his iconoclastic research and how it revolutionized the scholarship of leadership.

Keith Grint
Keith spent 10 years working in various positions across a number of industry sectors before switching to academics, where he held chairs at Cranfield and Lancaster Universities and was Lancaster Leadership Centre Director.

Lee Hamilton
A former representative reflects on his time in Congress and on leadership lessons that can be learned from previous U.S. presidential administrations.

Monsour Javidan
A globally recognized expert in leadership and organizational behavior, Monsour Javidan has research that is widely published, ranking him among the top 2% most cited scholars in business and management worldwide.

Susan Komives
One of the most respected leadership writers who has had a profound impact on student leadership development through her scholarly work.

James Morris
A key visionary in developing Indiana talks through his early experiences in government and his numerous other positions.

Theodore Hesburgh
A former president of Notre Dame University talks about the advances made under his leadership and his involvement in civil rights during the ’60s.

Frances Hesselbein
A former CEO of Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. defines leadership and discusses her time with management expert Peter Drucker and his influence on the Scouts.

Gill Hickman
She earned her PhD at the University of Southern California in 1978 with fields in Public Administration, Organizational Theory, Organizational Behavior, and Human Resource Management.

Martin Jischke
The 10th president of Purdue University talks about how leaders are made and explores his time as an educator and administrator.

Barbara Kellerman
Early in her career she held academic and administrative positions at Fordham University, Tufts University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and George Washington University.

Manfred Kets de Vries
A leadership scholar and psychologist discusses growing up in the Netherlands, his writings on leadership, and his time at INSEAD.

Jean Lipman-Blumen
A professor talks about the importance of integrity, compassion, and empathy in leadership, and on educating people to be good citizens.

Robert Lord
He played a key role in developing the University of Akron’s graduate industrial/organizational psychology program ranked in the top 10 in the US in 2009 by U.S. News & World Report.

Senator Richard Lugar
Senator Lugar is an Indiana legend, retiring as the longest-serving senator in our State’s history. Senator Lugar is a universally recognized expert in foreign relations. As a testament to that fact, he and former Georgia Senator Sam Nunn recently were asked to brief the Trump Administration regarding North Korea. Senator Lugar forged strong relationships among his colleagues on both sides of the political aisle.

P. E. MacAllister
A former board chairman reminisces about his education, his time in the military, corporate leadership, and philanthropy.

James MacGregor Burns
An authority on leadership studies talks about working on Capitol Hill, the leadership skills of various U.S. presidents, and his thoughts on what makes a good leader.

Larraine Matusak
A leadership scholar talks about her time in an Illinois convent, how she defines leadership, and her successes as an educator.

Russell Mawby
A chairman emeritus of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation discusses his family’s farm, his thoughts on philanthropy, and the importance of leadership training.

William Mays
The Mays Chemical Company founder talks about the power of the civil rights movement and the qualities of successful leaders.

Angela McBride
Sought to put IU School of Nursing on the map nationally by building areas of nursing excellence in web-based and interactive learning, behavioral oncology, quality of life in chronic illness, and healthy families/healthy communities during her tenure as dean from 1991–2003.

Doris Merritt
During her 25-year tenure at IUPUI, her influence extended campuswide as a woman of many firsts.

Patricia Miller
A co-founder of the Vera Bradley Company talks about creativity in leadership, entrepreneurship, and the difference between leadership and management.

Catherine Milton
An early leader in national service, she served as the first executive director of the federal agency, Commission on National and Community Service and was responsible for the design and implementation of national service programs which evolved into AmeriCorps and Learn & Serve.

Henry Mintzberg
An academic and author on business and management discusses his writing, his definition of leadership, and balance in society.

John Mutz
Chairman of the Board of the Lumina Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing greater access to higher education opportunities for underserved populations.

Stella Nkomo
She spent 17 years, 1983-2000, at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, Belk College of Business Administration, rising through the academic ranks to Full Professor.

Sonia Ospina
An esteemed leadership and public management scholar with over 40 years of experience, Dr. Ospina recently retired from NYU's Wagner Graduate School. 

Sherry Queener
Served IUPUI for over 40 years as a professor of Pharmacology and Associate Dean and Director of the IU Graduate School, and worked with faculty to review and develop graduate programs, courses, and procedures.

Ron Riggio
A renowned psychologist and leadership scholar, Ron Riggio's research has significantly advanced the fields of leadership and organizational psychology.

Sallie Rowland
A civic leader and former CEO looks back on her education, discusses respect for others as a leadership quality, and talks about historic preservation.

Guy Russell
An amazing leader and innovator his entire life, but didn't really think of himself as a leader. Active in civil rights and led the way in getting Purdue to host a chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, African-American fraternity, while earning an electrical engineering degree.

John Ryan
As IU’s 14th president, his leadership advanced in significant and lasting ways the quality of the university and its distinction within the state, nationally, and internationally.

Shirley Sagawa
A national expert on children and youth policy, Sagawa has been called a “founding mother of the modern service movement” for her work on national service.

Edgar Schein
An organizational development scholar talks about social and organizational therapy, his military service, and his research.

Georgia Sorenson
A leader who strongly believed that leadership was not simply a title—it was a way of thinking, of behaving. As a scholar, a teacher, a leader, she demonstrated what can be achieved by someone who understands the power and practice of good leadership.

Ambassador Randall L. Tobias
Our center's namesake, Ambassador Randall L. Tobias, has served as a leader in business, education, philanthropy and government for over 30 years. He discusses what he's learned throughout a career in leadership roles.

Margaret Wheatley
An organizational behavior scholar discusses effecting change in systems, faith in the human spirit, and her experiences in the Peace Corps.