CMSI Hosts 9th Annual ELEVATE Program in Princeton NJ
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Natalie Passov | natalie.passov@gse.rutgers.edu | 848-932-0728
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., June 11, 2024 – 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 11 to June 14, 2024, 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.
“When we started this program 10 years ago, I never could have imagined how well received it could be,” said Marybeth Gasman, Executive Director of CMSI and Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University. “We knew the program was vital to the success of MSI faculty but it’s been incredible to see fellows year after year leave enthusiastic, inspired, and with lifelong connections.”
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, generously supported by The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, 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.
"ELEVATE was the best academic-led conference I have experienced since my inception in academia” mentioned Shannon Antoine Hardy, 2023 ELEVATE Fellow and Assistant Professor at Florida A&M University. “I learned new skills specific to scholarship, research, and grant writing. I also met some really cool faculty members with diverse educational and research backgrounds. These relationships turned into research collaborations. I wish I could attend every year.”
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/.
