Eight doctoral and two master's students are exploring university administration as part of the eighth cohort of the Brown Executive Scholars Training program. The Graduate School's 12-week program helps to prepare doctoral and advanced master's students for administrative careers.
"My goal upon graduating Brown is to pursue a faculty career where I can marry my passion for research with teaching and supporting students in higher education. I have a strong interest in learning about and addressing challenges relevant to students from historically underrepresented groups," says doctoral student Karina Santamaria about why she applied to the BEST program.
The 2018 BEST participants are:
- Emily Drennan, doctoral student in Egyptology & Assyriology
- Javier Juarez, master's student in American Studies
- Ashleigh LoVette, doctoral student in Behavioral & Social Health Sciences
- Andrew Lynn, doctoral student in Psychology
- Cole Morgan, doctoral student in English
- Miroslava Nikolova, doctoral student in Slavic Studies
- Jennifer Polexi, master's student in Urban Education Policy
- Karina Santamaria, doctoral student in Behavioral & Social Health Sciences
- Benjamin Wilks, doctoral student in Biomedical Engineering
- Andrea Wright, doctoral student in Anthropology
In this program, which was created in 2010, each student is paired with an administrative sponsor to learn about their role and receive advice and support amid career exploration. Sponsors come from a variety of offices across campus, including the the Offices of the President, Provost, Dean of the College, and Campus Life. The mentors are:
- Catherine Axe, Associate Dean and Director of SEAS
- Janet Blume, Senior Associate Dean of Dean of the Faculty
- Margaret Chang, Director of the Curricular Resource Center, Associate Dean of the College
- Gail Cohee, Director, Sarah Doyle Women's Center & Associate Dean of the College
- Janet Cooper-Nelson, Chaplain Of The University
- Medeva Ghee, Executive Director of the Leadership Alliance
- Lynn Hernandez, Director of University Inclusion Programs
- Joel Revill, Associate Dean of the Faculty and Assistant Provost for Special Projects
- Kisa Takesue, Director of Leadership Programs, School of Professional Studies
- Je-Shawna Wholley, Assistant Director, LGBTQ Center
In addition to this valuable mentoring, students will benefit from weekly talks on topics ranging from diversity in higher education to effective academic leadership. The program concludes in mid-April with a ceremony and certificate presentation.