LNC sessions are held from October through May. After graduating, participants help plan content for the next program year.
Due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, the Class XXIX program will be presented in a hybrid format. The fall 2021 sessions will be hosted on our virtual platform. We will return to in-person programming for the spring 2022 sessions as health considerations permit.
Regional Alumni Welcome: Virtual, September 17, 2021, 9 – 10 am
Orientation: Virtual, October 5-7, 2021
Government: Virtual, November 2-4, 2021
Education: Virtual, December 7-9, 2021
Health and Human Services: Charlotte, February 1-3, 2022
Economic Development: Beaufort/Morehead City, March 1-3, 2022
Environment: Asheville, April 5-7, 2022
Planning Meeting/Graduation: Raleigh, May 10-11 — Note that this is shifted one day earlier than the original schedule
Make sure you have all sessions blocked on your calendars.
Virtual Orientation (October)
Virtual Program Sessions (November, December)
Virtual sessions will include a combination of pre-recorded content, live presentations, real-time interaction with presenters, and structured opportunities to connect with LNC classmates, alumni, presenters, and guests. All Wednesday and Thursday elements are required. The pre-session elements on Tuesday (tour/activity and social) are optional but encouraged. The LNC attendance policy (see below) allows participants to miss a limited number of segments throughout the program year.
In-Person Program Sessions (February, March, April)*
All Wednesday and Thursday elements are required. The LNC attendance policy (see below) allows participants to miss a limited number of segments throughout the program year.
*Adjustments to the structure of in-person sessions will be made if necessary due to health considerations as the program year progresses.
**The February session in Charlotte will be the first in-person session of the program year. It will include an expanded Tuesday segment, to include lunch, an activity, and networking time from 12:00 – 4:00 pm.
Planning Meeting and Graduation Ceremony (May)
Time Commitment Outside Sessions
Each participant will be assigned to a Learning Team for the program year. Learning Teams schedule 1-hour-long phone calls between each session (monthly from October through May). Calls are optional but encouraged. For some sessions, participants are asked to review materials in advance to enhance the session experience. There are no other requirements outside the scheduled session programming.
As outlined in the application materials, participation in Leadership North Carolina is a two-year commitment. The schedule for the first year is outlined above. Following graduation, each participant is required to serve on a planning committee for one of the five program sessions or play another role in preparing the program for the following class. There is one in-person meeting held the day of graduation. The remainder of the planning, research, and outreach to presenters is done by conference call (approximately one call per month) and email. Planning committee members are expected to attend the session they help plan.
Regular attendance at all required session elements is critical to success for LNC’s participants and the LNC program. Participants are expected to attend each session in its entirety, but we recognize that conflicts and emergencies arise.
Participation in the full October Orientation session is mandatory. Failure to take part in all components of Orientation requires withdrawal from the program with no refund. Absences at the five remaining sessions are counted in segments. There are 23 required segments during the program year. Each morning or afternoon counts as one segment, as does the class dinner for the in-person sessions. Allowed absences may be divided across multiple sessions. If more than six segments are missed, the participant is automatically withdrawn from the program with no refund.
There are no “excused absences” – the Board of Directors’ policy since LNC’s inception has been that missing more than the number of segments outlined here results in an unrecoverable loss of content and class interaction, even if due to work, illness, or emergency.
For each session, the Tuesday afternoon activity and the Tuesday evening reception are optional. Attendance is encouraged but does not count for nor against the attendance requirement.
