Institute

2021 PKAL STEM Leadership Institute

Re-Conceptualizing a Better Future for Undergraduate STEM Education

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Multiple Dates
Institute I: July 13-16, 2021
Institute II: July 20-23, 2021

A Remote Professional Development Experience

Covid Update

As scientists, we know you are concerned about pursuing your professional development goals while also protecting your health and the health of your loved ones. Project Kaleidoscope shares that concern and continues to monitor updates about COVID-19 and its new variants from major news outlets, scientific organizations and laboratories, and our colleagues at the National Institutes of Health who have been working on development of the Moderna vaccine.

We have also transitioned the PKAL STEM Leadership to a virtual format. To ensure that we have not compromised quality or content in doing so, all Institute activities have been completely re-designed to offer our virtual participants the same life changing experience that is recognized as the hallmark of the Institute. Also, every effort has been made to streamline the application process, keeping in mind the extraordinary time, resource, and energy demands being placed upon the STEM academy.

Institute Overview

Enlightened institutions of higher education recognize the value of cultivating leadership capacity among STEM faculty and administrators. The PKAL STEM Leadership Institute empowers individuals in fully understanding and implementing the theory and practice of navigating the politics of change, addressing inter- and intra-personal conflicts, and re-structuring the institutional systems that limit our capacity for global competitiveness in science and technology.

This Institute is uniquely designed for early- and mid-career STEM faculty, principal investigators, and administrators who are engaged in leading initiatives and interventions aimed at transforming undergraduate STEM education in their classrooms, departments, and institutions. The Institute awakens and sensitizes its participants to the systems, structures, and influences of power and privilege within higher education, equipping them with the tools and skills needed to bring about social change and true reform in undergraduate STEM education.

Experiential learning is a hallmark of the PKAL STEM Leadership Institute, and will remain so in its virtual form. Nearly 60% of the Institute’s curriculum is grounded in the major tenets of experiential learning. The Institute also features the state-of-the-art diversity simulation, My Tenure Trek® (MTT), which guides participants through real world experiences that are representative of cultures, norms, and traditions that are distinctly different from their own. MTT creates deep awareness and clear perspective about the role of microaggressions and implicit biases in higher education, which often undermine national attempts to diversify the STEM workforce.

About the Institute

Overall, the Institute has proven effective in promoting leadership self-efficacy among its participants, with over 65% percent of Institute alumni noting a significant increase in their ability to: 1) facilitate change, 2) effectively respond to problems, and 3) fully consider diverse cultures in designing policies and practices for institutional transformation.

    Who Should Apply?

    • Early- to mid-career STEM faculty with a desire to improve undergraduate STEM education through leadership development
    • Principal investigators who lead undergraduate STEM reform initiatives
    • Administrators (with STEM disciplinary expertise) of academic STEM units

    Individuals from community colleges, minority serving institutions, and/or historically underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

    Applicants will be notified of their acceptance on or before May 1, 2021. After this date, questions or concerns about application status can be forwarded to: [email protected]

    Inquiries

    Questions may be directed to [email protected].