Title: Trent Lott Leadership Institute Names First Executive Director
Release Date: 2005-08-18
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'I consider it a blessing to be able to return to Ole Miss,' says William Gottshall,
UM alumnus, former Oxford bank president and chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Trent Lott. |
Full Story:
OXFORD, Miss. - William Gottshall, chief of staff for U.S.
Sen. Trent Lott, has been named the first executive
director of the Trent Lott Leadership Institute at the
University of Mississippi.
Gottshall's appointment was approved today
(Thursday) by the Board of Trustees of State
Institutions of Higher Learning. He is expected to
assume his new post on Oct. 1.
Chancellor Robert Khayat said the university is
fortunate to have Gottshall lead the institute,
which was established at UM in 1999 to produce
future leaders for the state and nation.
"Bill Gottshall is a wonderful man with superb
qualifications," Khayat said. "We are confident that he
will provide visionary and aggressive leadership for the
institute."
"I have great respect for, and attribute much of my success
to, Ole Miss," said Gottshall, who has been head of Sen.
Lott's Washington office for the last seven years. "It's an
honor to serve in the institute, named after one of the
nation's great leaders, and I consider it a blessing to be
able to return to Ole Miss."
After earning a bachelor's of business
administration degree from UM, Gottshall served in
the U.S. Army, first as a lieutenant in Germany,
where he was in special weapons command, and later
as a captain in Korea, where he was involved in
the Hawk missile command.
Following military service, Gottshall returned to
Oxford and worked for 25 years at First National
Bank. He resigned as chief executive officer at the
bank in 1998 to accept his position with Sen. Lott.
He said he is ready for the challenge that lies
ahead.
"Serving as the chief of staff to a United States senator
is a collective education in management, conflict
resolution, people skills and sensitivity training,"
Gottshall said.
Under the leadership of Khayat, provost Carolyn
Staton and interim director Bob Haws, the
institute has been built and cultivated from the
ground up. Gottshall said his goal for the
institute is to continue that growth and ensure its
mission. "The training of leaders for our country
couldn't be more important in this day and time."
The institute, which offers an undergraduate minor
in leadership studies, operates various programs to
promote the ideals of good leadership. They include
a summer institute for high school leaders, an
annual symposium for national and international
business and government leaders, and professional
seminars for contemporary leaders in education, law
and nonprofit organizations.
When the institute was founded, Sen. Lott said,
"Our founding fathers recognized that leadership is
not an aristocratic birthright. It is an acquired
quality, attainable by anyone with the patience,
courage and conviction to meld the energies of many
individuals into a single force for the pursuit of
common goals."
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