A Proposal to Conduct the HBCU0UP Leadership Institute

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ABSTRACT HRD 0917335The Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Network is conducting an HBCU-UP Leadership Development Institute (LDI) for a cohort of 30 assistant professors in STEM disciplines at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with HBCU-UP Implementation Awards. The goals of the project are to: (1) enhance the leadership and research capabilities of STEM junior faculty from underrepresented minority groups at these institutions; and (2) build a community of emerging leaders in STEM at HBCUs.The HBCU-UP LDI consists of four sessions held over a one-year period. LDI is a faculty professional development initiative designed to foster and promote enhanced academic leadership among the participants. The sessions include: a five-day summer session in 2009; a two-day winter session in 2010; a ten-week summer research appointment at an NSF-supported research center; and a concluding five-day summer session in 2010.INTELLECTUAL MERITLDI Sessions focus on self-assessment; the characteristics of effective leadership; time management strategies; negotiating skills; scholarly productivity; proposal preparation and evaluation; and effective oral and written communication skills. Other topics emphasized include team building, the integration of research and education, mentoring, and the professional development of STEM students.Each HBCU-UP LDI member receives guidance on the preparation of an Individual Leadership Development Plan (ILDP) to assess and guide his/her leadership activities during and following the Institute. Each member also develops a STEM or STEM education research proposal and identifies potential funding sources for a project to be implemented on his/her campus for which he/she would serve as principal investigator/project director. The IDLP includes short and long-term goals andinvolves participants in an off-campus summer research activity at an NSF-supported research center. Between sessions, ongoing communication is facilitated through the project?s web-based electronic community.The project builds on QEM?s experience in conducting three-part Leadership Development Institutes for STEM faculty at grantees in the Foundation?s Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) and adds the summer research appointment as a fourth major component, based upon insight gained by QEM in the placement of STEM faculty in summer research positions at NSF-funded Science and Technology Centers (STCs). The project adds new knowledge about the effectiveness in enhancing STEM education and research at HBCUs of this approach to faculty professional development.BROADER IMPACTSThe HBCU-UP LDI enhances the skills of a cadre of underrepresented STEM faculty who are part of a community of emerging leaders at HBCUs. The HBCU-UP LDI participants share the knowledge and experience gained through the Institute with other STEM faculty at their institutions and with colleagues beyond their campuses through presentations at professional meetings, use of a dedicated website and a listserv, and the promotion of campus efforts that combine STEM education and research. Participants are in a better position to assist their institutions in securing external support for research, including campus-based undergraduate research opportunities for students. Beyond the duration of the LDI, the efforts of participants will provide a foundation for sustaining and strengthening the STEM research and education infrastructure at the HBCUS they represent.