By Emmanuel Freeman
NASHVILLE, TN (TSU News Service) — Frank Stevenson, TSU’s associate vice president and dean of students, has been selected to participate in the 2019-2020 class of Leadership Nashville. Stevenson was one of 44 individuals selected from among 280 applicants to participate in the program’s 44th class, which starts in September.
For more than 40 years, Leadership Nashville has organized an intensive program that assists community decision-makers. Over nine months, participants learn about pressing issues affecting their community and gain an in-depth understanding of the nature of those problems. The nonpartisan group refrains from taking positions on issues, and does not endorse political candidates.
Stevenson said he is excited to be selected for this year’s class.
“I am honored to be chosen out of a very competitive process,” said Stevenson, who recently reinstituted Leadership TSU, a top training program that has received national recognition. “I believe I will benefit immensely from this cohort of amazing leaders from across the city.”
Jerry Williams, executive director of Leadership TSU, said selection for the 2019-2020 class was “especially difficult” because of the large number of very qualified applicants.
“We do not attempt to pass out solutions,” Williams said. “In fact, our participants are so diverse that they would never agree with each other. Instead, we expose them to various viewpoints on each issue, believing that Nashville will be stronger because decisions these leaders make in the future will come from a broadened, enlightened perspective.”
The nine-month program aspires to cultivate community leaders. Participants are educators, doctors, bankers, artists, business people, rabbis, ministers, lawyers, and representatives of labor, public service, international communities and the volunteer sector.
In January, Stevenson, a longtime Nashvillian and senior pastor of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, reinstituted Leadership TSU in partnership with FedEx. The program trains and develops students with top leadership skills to help them be more competitive in the workforce. Forty students – from freshmen to seniors – with demonstrated ability to lead, are participating in the program.