Doerr Institute for New Leaders receives prestigious designation

Rice’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders has received the Association of Corporate Executive Coaches’ MEECO Gold Designation for “having achieved a standard of excellence in design, execution and the sustainability of a superior program to support leadership and executive coaching,” according to the designation committee.

The Doerr Institute’s Ruth Reitmeier and Ryan Brown (right) received the MEECO designation plaque at the MEECO Leadership Development Conference’s black-tie gala May 23. They are pictured with professional leader developer Eddie Turner. Courtesy photo

The Measuring Employee Experience, Executive Coaching and Culture in Organizations (MEECO) designation was created in 2015.

“It is a symbol to students, faculty investors and the public that you are committed to excellence at the highest level as evaluated by industry thought leaders,” MEECO Leadership Institute CEO C.B. Bowman wrote in announcing the Doerr Institute’s designation.

The Doerr Institute was established with support from a gift from alumni Ann ’75 and John ’73 Doerr in the summer of 2015 with a mission to “elevate the leadership capacity of Rice students across the university.” It is the country’s first professional leadership development program offered at no cost to all undergraduate and graduate students and is the only leadership institute that provides individualized coaching and actionable guidance from credentialed coaches for college students. Approximately 25 percent of Rice students have participated in Doerr Institute programming to date. Leadership scholar Tom Kolditz, a retired brigadier general, serves as founding director of the institute.

Rice and UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, which also earned MEECO designation this year, are the only two universities to receive the designation and reach the Gold level. Other organizations that have received the designation include Ford Motor Co., the Mayo Clinic and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The designation holds for two years, after which organizations can reapply.

Receiving the designation plaque on behalf of the Doerr Institute at the MEECO Leadership Development Conference in Estes Park, Colo., May 23 were Ruth Reitmeier, assistant director of coaching, and Ryan Brown, managing director for measurement.