FDU Students Build Leadership Skills at Inaugural Student Leadership Development Day

October 9, 2026 – Fairleigh Dickinson University students spent Wednesday, Sept. 30, learning, practicing, and connecting at Student Leadership Development Day (SLDD), hosted by the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Leadership (CISL) in Dickinson Hall, led by Scott Behson, Professor of Management and Director of the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Leadership.

Structured like a mini-conference, the program offered leadership workshops and interactive sessions led by more than a dozen FDU offices and programs.

Provost Ben Rifkin, Coach Stephanie Gaitley, and Scott Behson, director of CISL, after the “Conversation on Leadership” at Student Leadership Development Day.

Offerings ranged from confident communication and the power of persuasion to leading in the AI age, starting a club on campus and leading without burning out. Students also explored empathy skills, professionalism and finding their “why,” and joined hands-on sessions including acting and improv training games and a power-and-influence “Werewolf” game.

The day closed with a community-wide finale in Wilson Auditorium: “Conversation on Leadership” with Knights Women’s Basketball Coach Stephanie Gaitley, a mid-majors coaching legend, and FDU University Provost Ben Rifkin. The two shared lessons on leading teams, building culture and rising to a challenge.

SLDD had two goals: to help develop students’ leadership skills, and to bring together the many student programs FDU offers on a single day, showcasing everything available to students while building a larger audience for that programming.

Students left with new skills, new connections, and a clearer sense of the leadership opportunities waiting across campus.

To learn more about CISL and upcoming programs, visit fdu.edu/academics/centers-institutes/cisl.

Check out photos from the event