For those searching for resources that can be helpful to your students or if you are a student and looking for a leadership resource, you will want to check out So You Want to be a Leader? Written by Dr. Earl Paul, a community college practitioner at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida, many colleges nationwide are investing in these resources. After years of working with students in student affairs and as an instructor, Dr. Paul decided to start putting down his subject matter into writing. To that end, the result is a book entitled So You Want to be a Leader? Character and Leadership Fundamentals for College Students and a series of four booklets that deal with life skills areas. So You Want to Be a Leader? is designed to be of special interest to those seeking a main or supplemental book to augment their classes/workshops in such diverse areas as teaching leadership, freshman orientation, first-year experience, or college success classes. Another advantage is the book's structure, which consists of numerous short topics and lends itself to classroom and small group discussions. The book is divided into three areas: "Leadership and Character," "Soft Skills," and "Other Stuff." Because Paul wants to relate to students, he uses a vernacular that may seem unscholarly to many, writing instead with the intention of intriguing them enough to explore. The book is written taking into account the aversion today's students feel for the written word. Bound in an attractive, colorful cover and 163 pages long, the book does not deter students who automatically want to know how thick a book is before they will even consider reading it. In a review in the August '08 issue of The Journal of College Student Development, the reviewer states, "This is definitely a book that anyone who works to promote leadership development in college students will want to share with those who are already campus leaders and with soon-to-be leaders."
About the Author: Dr. Earl Paul works in student affairs and has been an adjunct faculty member at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida for many years. He also works with students in the area of leadership and other student development areas. Along with his college career, he is also an author and a speaker. His degrees include a Bachelor's Degree in English Education from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, a Master's degree in Student Personnel/Counseling from Western Kentucky University and a Ph.D. in Adult Education from the University of South Florida. Through the years, he has written articles for professional publications, presented at numerous conferences both for peers and students, has been a paid speaker at many colleges, and has authored a book on college student leadership and character as well as a series of four booklets on life skills areas for students. When not working, a favorite passion is traveling the world, including hiking in the Himalayas in Nepal, spending two weeks in the Amazon rain forest, fly fishing for salmon in Alaska, extensive traveling around Eastern and Western Europe, biking down the Haleakala Volcano in Hawaii and riding a jet boat in the narrow canyons in New Zealand.