UMES professors to participate in science, math leadership training
Washington, DC - (Dec. 16, 2010) - Two veteran science professors at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore will join peers from 12 other historically black institutions in a special training program in 2011 designed specifically for female faculty members who teach science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Dr. Linda R. Johnson, an associate professor of biology, and Dr. Jeurel Singleton, an associate professor of entomology, have been selected to participate in Preparing Critical Faculty for the Future, according to the Association of American Colleges and Universities.
The project is funded by the National Science Foundation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities-Undergraduate Program. Faculty from the 13 participating institutions represent the two-year and four-year as well as public and private sectors. Its goal is to providing strategies for becoming strong academic and administrative leaders in academic disciplines collectively referred to by educators as "STEM" subjects.
The National Science Foundation grant covers travel, meals, registration and other expenses so Johnson, Singleton and their colleagues can participate in training seminars scheduled for March and July 2011.
“We are grateful to the National Science Foundation for giving AAC&U the opportunity to provide professional and STEM leadership development to women of color at HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions,” AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider said.
“We also are delighted that this initiative connects our STEM reform efforts led by Project Kaleidoscope with our work supporting women in higher education through our Program on the Status and Education of Women.”
Other participating institutions are:
- Bennett College - Greensboro, NC
- Central State University - Wilberforce, OH
- J.F. Drake State Technical College - Huntsville, AL
- Livingstone College - Salisbury, NC
- North Carolina A&T State University - Greensboro, NC
- North Carolina Central University - Durham, NC
- Spelman College - Atlanta, GA
- Tennessee State University - Nashville, TN
- University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
- University of the District of Columbia
- Wiley College - Marshall, TX
- Winston-Salem (NC) State University
Each institution nominated two female faculty members in STEM disciplines to participate in all phases of the project. Institutional leaders also identified three additional participants, primarily women of color, to engage in the second phase of the project—participating in AAC&U’s Engaging Departments Institute in July 2011.
“We expect the project to make great strides in advancing undergraduate STEM education and the professional and leadership development of women of color in STEM fields,” said Alma Clayton-Pedersen, AAC&U’s Senior Scholar and Project Director.
Additional HBCUs will be selected to participate in the program in 2011and again in 2012. Nearly 40 percent of the nation’s HBCUs are expected to participate in this initiative by the end of the grant cycle in 2013. The project is also open to non-HBCUs, but those institutions must fully support their teams in both phases of the project.
The project’s goals are:
- To provide professional and leadership development for women of color faculty in STEM disciplines, or in NSF natural and behavioral science disciplines; and
- Improve undergraduate STEM education at HBCUs and beyond.
Participants will be provided the opportunity and the financial support to engage in and influence the national dialogue on improving undergraduate STEM education. They will contribute to and gain from national efforts to develop and implement innovative STEM teaching and learning practices and effective curricular change strategies.
By uncovering useful strategies for preparing women faculty of color for academic leadership in STEM fields, PCFF expects to improve STEM education broadly, as well as at HBCUs.
For additional information about the project, see: www.aacu.org/pcff.
About AAC&U
AAC&U is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Its members are committed to extending the advantages of a liberal education to all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Founded in 1915, AAC&U comprises more than 1,200 member institutions—including accredited public and private colleges and universities of every type and size.
AAC&U functions as a catalyst and facilitator, forging links among presidents, administrators and faculty members engaged in institutional and curricular planning. Its mission is to reinforce the collective commitment to liberal education at both the national and local levels and to help individual institutions keep the quality of student learning at the core of their work as they evolve to meet new economic and social challenges.