The Lubin School of Business at Pace University has announced the launch of the Center for Leadership and Emotional Intelligence. The new center, developed in partnership with Harvard professor Arthur Brooks, aims to teach students about the science of happiness and its role in effective leadership.
The initiative features a free, six-session, non-credit program for Pace University students. The curriculum is based on research from Brooks’ Leadership and Happiness Laboratory at Harvard Kennedy School and is tailored to integrate emotional intelligence into practical leadership skills.
Ipshita Ray, PhD, graduate program chair at Lubin, leads the center. She explained that her personal experience with stage three cancer inspired her to create something meaningful for students. “I’ve been blessed with a second chance, and my mission is not to waste it, but to do something meaningful,” she said. “I truly believe that my Pace Community, my colleagues and friends, saved my life.”
Ray noted that returning to teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed how much students were struggling with purpose. “I realized the students were hurting inside,” she said. “I didn’t want to just teach them material for academic purposes. I wanted to do something with impact.”
After reading Brooks’ book From Strength to Strength during her illness, Ray contacted him about collaborating on a project at Pace University. Together they designed a curriculum that focuses on making happiness an intentional practice in daily life.
“The lessons are designed around how happiness can be a daily practice—how you can take it from a feeling to a state of being,” Ray explained. “It’s about converting negative energy into positive energy.” She added: “This program is about building leaders who lift others up… Leaders whose main purpose is service, not wealth or power.”
Neil Braun, Lubin Dean Emeritus and former NBCUniversal president, supports the center financially and will co-teach the course alongside Ray. Students who complete all sessions will receive a certificate created by Harvard Kennedy School faculty in collaboration with Lubin and participate in networking events featuring business executives and alumni.
Ray hopes eventually to expand the program across other schools within Pace University as well as other institutions in New York City. She also expressed interest in establishing a dual-degree offering with Harvard.
“I want to make this a major movement,” she said. “My hope is to expand the program University-wide, which would allow Harvard to list us on their website, invite us to symposia, and co-lead research.”
Her immediate focus remains on supporting current Pace students: “How can you lead if you don’t see the value in yourself or others?” Ray asked. “I want students to understand they have complete agency over their choices… I believe a winning life is a choice, that happiness is a choice.”
The Center for Leadership and Emotional Intelligence welcomes all Lubin students interested in participating.
