Some students believe leadership skills are taking a back seat to other college priorities. The result — the Northern Leadership Institute.

Institute co-chair Sadiya Khan said the 14-member group discussed the good and the bad of what they learned as student leaders over the years and recognized the need for leadership training and opportunities in “real world” experience.

“We wanted something for the students to take with them when they leave campus,” Khan said. “Leadership training can be integrated with issues such as student diversity, and focusing on freshmen and sophomores, can be taught early and continued through the years.”

Working with an eight-member advisory board, Khan and others talked with student leaders about their ideal organization. What they came up with wasn’t surprising, and students realized most of them had the same problems as leaders from other groups.

“The networking was good, and people suddenly became less inhibited to ask questions,” Khan said.

The first project sponsored by the institute is a March 27 conference with professional workshops and seminars. The conference will work to promote the institute’s four main goals of campus leadership, character growth, future professionalism and civic responsibility, Khan said.

“The four cornerstones shape civic leaders who make the world turn,” she said. “People sometimes think that their voices don’t count, and community involvement makes that possible.”

Conference registration begins at 8 a.m., and sessions will last until 5 p.m. with a keynote speech by former senator Paul Simon. Participants must be nominated by faculty, staff or administration and self-nomination forms can be accessed through the institute’s Web site at www.stuaff.niu.edu/upa.

“For seniors and juniors, they can have a tremendous amount of Northern Illinois networking,” board member Matt Beintum said. “Freshmen and sophomores can really build leadership and contribute more to NIU.”

Khan said nominees should be freshmen, sophomores and juniors who are in leadership positions or have leadership potential.

“We’re encouraging professors and advisers who see potential, especially in some of their younger students, to nominate them for the conference,” Khan said. “You can’t discard classroom leaders.”

The nominations must include the student’s name, year in school, major and a few of his or her leadership activities. The person who nominates the student also must include his or her name, department, title and phone number.

Beintum, who was president of the Golden Key honor society, said it would have been easier for him to have a connection to other campus leaders.

“There’s 500 members of Golden Key, and it would have been useful to have advice on how to recruit more than 30 members to show up to the meetings,” Beintum said. “With the leadership institute, we’re creating the opportunity to interact and gaining valuable skills.”