CMSI Hosts 10th Annual ELEVATE Program in Princeton, NJ
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Jacinda Nembhard | jacinda.nembhard@gse.rutgers.edu | 848-932-0774
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., June 11, 2025 – 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 today, June 11 to June 13, 2025, in Princeton, NJ.
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 who have since achieved tenure. ELEVATE offers a unique opportunity for networking and cross-institutional collaboration among early-career faculty members at MSIs.
“It is incredible that this is now our 10th cohort,” said Marybeth Gasman, Executive Director of CMSI and Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University. “Every year we see how much this program means to MSI faculty. The growth, success, and lasting connections speak for themselves. We always believed in the value of this program, but watching fellows leave inspired and connected has been great to witness.”
The three-day program features a series of sessions tailored to the needs of early career MSI faculty. Topics include publishing strategies, innovative teaching techniques, effective mentoring practices, managing service commitments, achieving work-life balance, and the path to tenure. Each session has been curated to directly address the unique needs of early-career MSI faculty.
ELEVATE promotes community building and fosters ongoing learning and networking opportunities for early-career MSI faculty. In addition, ELEVATE equips participants with essential tools to effectively support faculty at their home institutions. ELEVATE is offered free of charge, covering registration fees, meals, lodging, and materials for fellows.
“I honestly can say, I now have a network of scholars around the U.S. who I can learn from and lean on throughout this journey and road to tenure” mentioned marcus harvey, 2024 ELEVATE Fellow and Assistant Professor at Montclair State University. “My fellow fellows and the mentors have made themselves available to me in ways I was yearning for from my own institution.”
Read more about the 2025 cohort, here.
###
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 more information about CMSI, please visit http://cmsi.gse.rutgers.edu/.
