The Leadership Support Fund provides tenured and tenure-track women science and engineering faculty with the means to attend Leadership Programs or Academic Administration Training provided by other institutions. 

Participants may also research and propose other programs that they believe are appropriate for their needs.  Applications for the Leadership Support Fund must be received by the ADVANCE Program at least 60 days prior to the program they wish to attend.  Many program applications are due at their respective institutions several months ahead of the workshop date. We encourage you to contact program organizers for application deadlines and submit an application for ADVANCE funding well in advance of the program’s application deadline.

Leadership Support Fund proposals will be reviewed based on their potential to have a significant impact on the career path of the faculty applicant and how well the proposed program fits with the applicant’s career goals.

Proposals must include the following:

• A cover page.
• A one-page personal statement that explains your choice of workshop or program and how it will meet your current and future career goals.
• A one-page budget and budget explanation.
• A curriculum vitae.

Proposals should be submitted at least 60 days prior to the start-date of the program they wish to attend (earlier if the program has an earlier application due date).  Proposals should be sent by email with the subject heading “Leadership Support Fund.”

A printable version of these program descriptions below may be found here.

Committee on the Advancement of Women Chemists (COACh)
COACh has implemented day-long workshops that provide negotiation, management, and leadership skills to help women achieve their professional goals as faculty in the chemical science.

COACh also holds an Academic Leadership Forum of several topical “early bird” sessions preceding each National meeting to engage academic leaders (Chairs, Deans, PIs and Center Directors) in discussions of topics contributing to individual growth, organizational success, and a supportive environmental culture.

Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women
ELAM’s year-long program focuses on preparing senior women faculty at schools of medicine, dentistry, and public health to move into positions of institutional leadership where they can effect positive change. 

Society of Women Engineers Leadership Development
Founded in 1950, SWE is the driving force that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career for women through an exciting array of training and development programs, networking opportunities, scholarships, outreach and advocacy activities, and much more.

Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN)
WEPAN is a national non-profit organization with over 600 members from nearly 200 engineering schools, small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations, and non-profit organizations. WEPAN is dedicated to improving the climate for and success of all women in engineering. By transforming environments in institutions of higher education, a diverse population of aspiring engineers can succeed.

American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)
AAC&U sponsors a variety of continuing programs--meetings, workshops, and summer institutes for campus teams--that bring together college educators from across institutional types, disciplines, and departments. AAC&U activities nurture the talents and creativity of higher education's current and future leaders. Attendees of recent meetings have described them as powerful and trans formative -- providing participants with innovative ideas and practices, and shaping the direction of their educational reform efforts.

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Summer Institute
The AAUP holds an annual summer institute for members from around the country to sharpen their leadership skills, enhance expertise, and network with AAUP activists. 

American Council on Education (ACE)
ACE offers several leadership and professional development programs and activities, including programs for current (and future) department chairs, other administrative leaders, and women of color.  Application deadlines vary.

Faculty Resource Network
The Faculty Resource Network (FRN) at New York University is an award-winning professional development initiative that sponsors programs for faculty members from a consortium of over 50 colleges and universities. The Network hosts lectures, symposia, and intensive seminars, all of which are designed to improve the quality of teaching and learning at its member and affiliate institutions.

Hampton University Executive Leadership Summit
The Summit provides participants (assistant deans, deans, provosts, etc.) with an opportunity to receive professional development training from a cadre of highly successful executive leaders through stimulating lectures, case studies, interactive sessions, and one-to-one dialogue.

HERS Institutes at Bryn Mawr and Wellesley
HERS Institutes offer intensive professional development experiences for women in mid- and senior level positions in higher education administration.  The Bryn Mawr Summer Institute provides a month-long program and the HERS Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration at Wellesley College provides a series of five inter-related weekend seminars throughout the academic year.  Application deadlines typically fall at the beginning of March (Bryn Mawr) and the beginning of August (Wellesley).

The Institute for Management and Leadership in Education (MLE) at Harvard University
The MLE is a two-week program designed for senior administrators (deans, provosts, vice presidents) responsible for thinking strategically about their institution’s academic change agenda. 

Leadership Excellence for Academic Diversity (LEAD)
Sponsored by the University of Washington’s ADVANCE program, LEAD offers an annual series of workshops for department chairs, deans, and emerging leaders in science, engineering, and mathematics (SEM).  The workshops include participants from around the country, and take place in different locations each year.  The series addresses departmental and university cultures, and the professional development of faculty.  In these workshops, participants learn practical strategies and tools to improve department culture and climate; explore unintended and unconscious biases that disproportionately impact women and underrepresented faculty; address important issues such as the recruitment and selection of faculty, evaluation of faculty performance, conflict resolution, and leadership; and utilize case studies on faculty and university life.  A pre-workshop mentoring-for-leadership event is offered to women faculty. 

National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE)
NCORE offers the leading and most comprehensive national forum on issues of race and ethnicity in American higher education. The conference focuses on the complex task of creating and sustaining comprehensive institutional change designed to improve racial and ethnic relations on campus and to expand opportunities for educational access and success by culturally diverse, traditionally underrepresented populations.

Senior Leadership Program for Professional Women
The Institute for Women’s Leadership and the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers University sponsor this program, which consists of several day-long workshops for high-potential women professionals.  The program was developed by Brigid Moynahan, president of The Next Level, Inc.

Simmons School of Management Leadership Conference for Women
In 1979, a small group of Simmons School of Management alumnae decided to organize an annual event that would be part reunion, part continuing education. The result: the school’s first professional development conference that brought together 150 or so women business leaders from the Boston area. Hugely successful, the conference immediately became a local institution and a prime networking event.

Women’s Leadership Program
Offered through the Center for Creative Leadership, the Women’s Leadership Program offers 5-day workshops for mid-to senior-level women managers (industry and academia) several times a year in both Greensboro, NC and San Diego, CA.