Engineering professor selected for competitive leadership fellowship
6/11/2020
By Miranda Buckheit
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Jingjing Li, William and Wendy Korb Early Career Professor of Industrial Engineering at Penn State, has been selected for the Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science (ELATES) Fellowship at Drexel University.
Li received the fellowship via nominations by Justin Schwartz, Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of Engineering; Ling Rothrock, interim department head of the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering and professor of industrial engineering; and Jack Hu, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Georgia. Hu served as Li’s doctoral adviser.
Fellowship applicants must hold a full-time faculty appointment at rank of full professor or tenured associate professor in a university or college program focusing on the STEM fields and have had some experience in personnel and budget management. Applicants must also be nominated by a senior official within their college or school, provide two recommendations and a submit their most recent curriculum vitae.
“I am glad to see that Jingjing was selected for this program,” Rothrock said. “Jingjing is a great researcher, adviser and peer and this opportunity will enable her to explore her leadership potential in academia.”
According to the program’s website, ELATES at Drexel is an intensive full-year, part-time national leadership development program designed to advance senior women faculty in academic STEM disciplines into effective institutional leadership roles within their schools and universities.
The program selects a wide range of fellows with varying experiences, backgrounds and perspectives. The admissions panel reviews candidates from multiple institutions and bases its selection on attributes like professional aspiration, achievements and challenges.
ELATES hosts three in-residence sessions to enhance fellows’ knowledge and skills in business practices of higher education, project management with diverse stakeholders and effective communication in a variety of leadership platforms. Each session is between four and six days long.
Li said she feels honored to be selected. She hopes to generate bigger impacts and provide leadership in the STEM education and research community by learning from the experiences of other successful female leaders involved with the program.
“I believe that having clear goals at different stages of my career and accepting challenges will accelerate my career advancement, and the ELATES is a perfect program to help achieve my next goal,” Li said. “The unique activities offered by ELATES, such as professional and peer coaching, personal leadership development plans and interviews of institutional leaders, along with classroom activities and case studies, will help me identify my potentials and a path towards being a successful leader. By creating a close and supportive network, ELATES also provides me an extraordinary opportunity to learn from talented women colleagues and peers.”
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Jingjing Li. IMAGE: PENN STATE
