The Kern Family Foundation has partnered with Drexel University to support its Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science (ELATES) program, a national leadership program for senior faculty. The $55,000 grant will provide five tuition scholarships for the yearlong program.
The scholarships will be awarded to ELATES Fellows in the Class of 2023-2024 from institutions associated with the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) — a partnership of 53 colleges and universities across the United States.
“These scholarships, and Drexel’s continued partnership with KEEN, strengthen the University’s ability to move forward with its shared mission of empowering women in engineering and promoting the entrepreneurial mindset in engineering education,” said Sharon Walker, PhD, dean of Drexel’s College of Engineering and executive director of ELATES at Drexel.
ELATES at Drexel is a part-time, leadership development program designed to promote senior women faculty — and faculty allies of all genders — in STEM fields into effective institutional leadership roles. ELATES will advance the mission of KEEN institutions, including Drexel University, to equip undergraduate engineering students with an entrepreneurial mindset by investing in STEM faculty development.
“ELATES is a remarkable leadership development program. It has been a vital part of the leadership journey for so many members within KEEN and the Engineering Unleashed community,” said Douglas Melton, program director at the Kern Family Foundation. “ELATES recognizes an entrepreneurial mindset as critical to the success of future academic leaders. We are thrilled to partner with the ELATES program to amplify, cultivate, and make visible the entrepreneurial mindset within the program’s participants.”
Selected fellows, who become admitted into the ELATES program, will conduct institutional action projects aligned with KEEN’s mission to graduate engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset so they can create personal, economic and societal value through a lifetime of meaningful work. The ELATES class of 2023-2024 will join an ELATES alumni network of more than 190 faculty leaders from dozens of institutions across the country.
Visit drexel.edu/elates for more information, or to apply. The list of institutions eligible for the KEEN scholarships can be found at engineeringunleashed.com/partners.