Welcome to the West Point Leadership Center
The WPLC provides an environment to study leadership science, capture the essence of the processes that transform cadets into leaders, and tackle the issues facing leaders in today’s global society.
Our Vision
Operating at the nexus of the military, the private sector, government, technology, and society, a Leadership Center at West Point prepares leaders – ranging from cadets to statesmen – to tackle, and resolve the world's most formidable challenges.
Center Programs
• USMA CLass of '83 DLS is a faculty-run lecture series that supports cadet development. The DLS brings influential leaders from all sectors to West Point to address cadets. The series hosts eight speakers a year with all cadets majoring in Leadership Development participating, or approximately 300 to 400 cadets. While at West Point, visiting speakers meet with the Superintendent, discuss leadership with smaller select groups of cadets, and receive a tour of the Academy. The rest of their visit is customized to meet a speaker’s business and personal interests.
• The Leadership Center’s Black & Gold Forum is a cadet-run forum. It gives cadets the opportunity to engage with prominent leaders and leadership thinkers from all walks of life. The B&G Forum typically organizes one major lecture at the Academy, which is attended by roughly 300 cadets. In addition, the B&G Forum gives 60 cadets the chance to take two domestic trips and one international trip a year to meet with recognized leaders where they work. Cadets identify the leaders with whom they would like to interact. Lastly, cadets involved in the B&G Forum attend many of the monthly lectures offered by the Leadership Center’s Distinguished Leader Series (DLS) and interact with the DLS speakers in smaller group discussions.
• The Cadet Leadership Conference is an annual event organized and run by cadets in interaction with other college student leaders from around the world facilitated by preeminent thought leaders on the subject of leadership.
• The World Leadership Conference will bring together the world’s best military and civilian leaders to confer on issues challenging leaders globally. Modeled in part on the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, this conference will be the world’s most respected senior leadership forum. Faculty will facilitate the dialogues and cadets will be offered the opportunity to participate as observers.