CMSI Hosts 8th Annual ELEVATE Program: Empowering MSI Faculty for Success in Academia and Beyond
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Natalie Passov | natalie.passov@gse.rutgers.edu | 848-932-0728
New Brunswick, NJ, June 20, 2023— This week, the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI) will host its annual early-career faculty professional development program, ELEVATE (Enriching Learning, Enhancing Visibility & Training Educators). The three-day program will take place from June 21 to June 23, 2023, in Philadelphia, PA.
ELEVATE is designed to empower and equip early-career Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) faculty with the necessary tools, skills, and knowledge to navigate challenges and excel in their roles. Facilitated by the CMSI team, senior faculty mentors, and former ELEVATE fellows with plentiful knowledge of the MSI faculty experience, ELEVATE offers a unique opportunity for networking and cross-institutional collaboration among early-career faculty members.
“It’s exciting to think we’re about to host our 8th cohort,” said Marybeth Gasman, Executive Director of CMSI and Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University. “This shows how vital the skills emphasized throughout this program are in academia. Fellows leave year after year with so much knowledge as well as life-long connections that transcend institutional boundaries.”
The program features a series of engaging sessions led by renowned speakers and experts in the field of academia. Topics of discussion will include publishing strategies, innovative pedagogical techniques, effective mentoring practices, managing service commitments, achieving work-life balance, and the path to tenure. This year, ELEVATE will also feature a more comprehensive look into how to contextualize salient identities within academic environments. Each session has been curated to directly address the distinct needs of early-career MSI faculty.
ELEVATE, generously supported by The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, promotes community building and fosters ongoing learning and networking opportunities for early-career MSI faculty. This dynamic program serves as a collaborative platform, fostering meaningful partnerships among MSIs nationwide. In addition, ELEVATE equips participants with essential tools to effectively support faculty at their respective home institutions. Notably, this experience is offered free of charge, covering registration fees, meals, and materials for fellows.
"I arrived at ELEVATE wondering if the tenure track was right for me. I left knowing it was the right path,” expressed Kerri Malloy, 2022 ELEVATE Fellow and Assistant Professor of Global Humanities at San José State University. “ELEVATE helped to equip me with a new skill set, mentors, friends, and insights to help me be successful in higher education.”
Follow along with the hashtag #ELEVATE2023 on Twitter (@centerformsis) as CMSI live-tweets highlights from the event! Be sure to follow along on Instagram (@centerformsis) for more behind the scenes insight.
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About the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions
The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI) brings together researchers and practitioners from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions. CMSI’s goals include elevating the educational contributions of MSIs; ensuring that they are a part of national conversations; bringing awareness to the vital role MSIs play in the nation’s economic development; increasing the rigorous scholarship of MSIs; connecting MSIs’ academic and administrative leadership to promote reform initiatives; and strengthening efforts to close educational achievement gaps among disadvantaged communities. The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions is part of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity and Justice (Proctor Institute)at the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. For further information about CMSI, please visit http://cmsi.gse.rutgers.edu.
About The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations
Organized in 1952 under a living trust established by Mr. Arthur Vining Davis, The Foundations bear witness to Mr. Davis's successful corporate leadership acumen and his visionary, entrepreneurial spirit in philanthropy. Since inception, the Foundations have provided philanthropy to American higher education, medicine and health care, interfaith leadership, and to public educational media for children and for historical and scientific documentaries with national distribution. Under the Foundations’ 2017-2022 strategic plan, the AVDF Board of Trustees will consider proposals aligned with two new additional philanthropic priorities: environmental engagement, stewardship and solutions; and palliative and end of life care. For more information, please visit http://www.avdf.org/.
