Our Story

1993
The Pryor Leadership Studies Program was established in 1993 by Fred and Shirley Pryor. Fred Pryor, a graduate of William Jewell College, pioneered the seminar business in 1970 and throughout their lives Fred and Shirley Pryor have modeled what it means to be “Forces for Good.” The Pryors favored a philanthropic contribution that would enable rising generations to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world. Out of this generous investment of their time, talents, and resources has emerged one of the foremost Leadership Development programs in the country. Today over 250 William Jewell students and 8,000 community members are served each year by varies components of the Pryor Center for Leadership Development.

2000
In 2000, the Leadership Program built one of the largest experiential learning courses to be found on any college campus in the country. The Tucker Leadership Lab was the first of many tools implemented to support student and community leadership development and experiential learning.

2001
In 2001, the College added a chapter of American Humanics (AH). Based in Kansas City, AH is a national alliance of 72 colleges and universities and 21 national nonprofit partners. Its mission is to educate, prepare, and certify professionals to lead nonprofit organizations. AH is the only national organization focusing on undergraduate nonprofit management education. The William Jewell College chapter of American Humanics is celebrated as one of the top chapters in the country.

2001
The Pryor Leadership Studies Program coordinated the effort to add a leadership component to our nursing major in 2001.

2002
Jewell began offering minors in the fall of 2002, and one of the first to be approved was an interdisciplinary minor in nonprofit leadership. The minor supports the American Humanics certificate program and the success of these two programs proved the impetus to add the major in nonprofit leadership.

2003
In 2003, the Leadership Program began to offer classroom-based leadership training programs to the community called Impact Performance. Based on sound principles and adult learning techniques, these training sessions engage and motivate participants to apply what they learn.

2005
Jewell Round Table was established in 2005. This collaboration software has lead to the two services: Discovery and Pulse.  Discovery is a performance improvement service that combines professional group facilitation with technology to impact your business' or organization's collaboration needs.  Our Pulse resources help you or your organization make better decisions through the process of collecting and analyzing information.

2006
In the spring of 2006, the Leadership Program moved into a new facility; the Fred and Shirley Pryor Center for Leadership Development. This retreat center located on the campus of William Jewell College has given a home to all the components of the Leadership Program.

2007
The first class of the executive-level Doniphan Leadership Institute was started in January 2007. This ongoing executive level training program for the Clay County Economic Development Council serves adults from corporate, nonprofit, government, educational, and faith-based organizations. This six-month program prepares leaders in the Kansas City area community by offering top-quality facilitation and experiential learning techniques.

2007
In the spring of 2007 the William Jewell College faculty, by unanimous vote, adopted the undergraduate Nonprofit Leadership Major.

Today - We continue to serve the community with the highest level of leadership programs.