Garthwait Leadership Center

Our Lived Values    

Purposeful action

We believe that leadership should always have a purpose, and therefore, we strive to practice this value in all that we do. We use a set of leadership principles and learning outcomes to guide every learning experience we offer. We help participants to make connections in and outside the classroom to complement their academic experience. We believe that leadership development provides transferable skills that are essential for preparation in any career field and we help students articulate who they are and what they can offer the world.

Collaborative work to connect people

We believe in building lasting relationships with our students and campus partners to enhance the tradition of leadership development at Gettysburg College. We believe that our faculty, staff, and administrators have the potential and responsibility to serve as leadership educators, so we aim to engage as many campus community members as possible in leadership development efforts. We believe in the power of cultivating one-on-one relationships through coaching and mentoring as a best practice in leadership development. We engage alumni and parent volunteers in our programs because we believe in the power of connecting people. We collaborate with and take great care in the selection, education, and supervision of student staff because we believe they are our greatest resource.

Engaging difference

In our world today, learning how to engage difference is essential for leadership preparation. We strive to promote the importance of diversity and inclusion and the necessity of respecting and engaging difference as part of any leadership process. We believe that everyone has different needs and may be at different developmental stages in their leadership journey. We use a wide range of leadership theories, models, and knowledge to educate our students since we believe that there are many ways to learn and practice leadership.

Experiential learning

We believe in providing high impact, engaging, experiential and intentional experiences that challenge participants to get out of their comfort zone. We believe in purposeful reflection that leads to self-awareness, which we believe is the key to preparing for leadership in any context. For experiential learning and transformational action to occur, we believe that participants must be vulnerable, motivated and committed to their development.

Increasing access

We believe everyone has the potential for leadership, and therefore, that all students should have the opportunity to develop their leadership skills. We also believe that leadership development should not finish after you graduate so we provide learning opportunities for young alumni as well. As an endowed program, we strive to minimize the barriers to participation so that our programs are accessible to all.

Bob Garthwait, Jr. ‘82

The Garthwait Leadership Center’s name recognizes the alumnus who has endowed the program, Robert Garthwait, Jr. '82, a trustee of the College and CEO of Cly-Del Manufacturing in Waterbury, Conn.

Garthwait is the third-generation business owner and credits his leadership skills to his experience at Gettysburg and time spent with his father and grandfather. The Garthwait Family name is the 37th to be engraved on the Benefactors Wall, which recognizes individuals and organizations that have contributed $1 million or more to the College.

“As a student, alumnus, and trustee, I have had many great experiences at Gettysburg. It is the responsibility of each of us to give back to the College and further strengthen the experience for future generations,” Garthwait said. “The College has a history of strong leadership and through the GLC, more students will have the opportunity to engage in leadership.”

Give to the GLC  

Your financial support and generosity enables the GLC to offer experiences that help students and young alumni discover their authentic self and how their unique talents can make a difference in the lives of those they serve.