Dr. Kedir Tessema, an assistant professor of leadership studies, is one of the newest members of the Wilkes faculty.

Being one of the many members of staff who originates from out of the country, Tessema provides a unique perspective to campus life, as well as his study of leadership skills.

Tessema, who works in the Jay S. Sidhu School of Business and Leadership, joined the university this semester.

Dr. Tessema was born and raised in the country of Ethiopia and came to the United States in 2011 for his Ph.D at the University of San Diego focusing on leadership studies. He then spent one year teaching at the university post graduation, before working as a professor at Shenandoah University, and then finally Wilkes. 

While Tessema joked about the  differences in weather between the places he’s worked, he also took time to comment on the amount of international faculty.

“I’m happy to see many international faculty teaching here. It makes you feel at home,” he said, “You share a lot of experiences together, because we all come from a lot of different international backgrounds.”

The professor also complimented the work ethic of the members of the university.

“Students and faculty are both very hardworking,” he remarked. “We are trying to help students learn, and I love the very connective spirit here.”

Tessema’s collegiate background in education eventually led to his study of leadership.

“As an educator, you see problems between students and communities,” he said. “So one of these problems is leadership.”

The university offers a leadership minor to students, focusing on the interaction between leaders and followers in different contexts. Tessema, along with other professors in the Business department, teach classes such as “Advance Leadership Theory and Practice” and “Organizational Behavior.”

“The world needs leaders, not in terms of numbers, but quality leaders. We are faced with a number of problems, social, environmental, political, but we lack leaders, which is why we are having trouble tightening our survival.”