NSF INCLUDES Aspire Alliance
Program Description
The primary purpose of IAspire Leadership Academy is to develop and support the next generation of underrepresented (URG) leaders in STEM higher education. This program will equip these individuals with skills to lead more effectively in an educational environment and gain the confidence to influence institutional transformation either in their current position or as they rise to other leadership positions. This program is open to academic leaders at both 2 and 4-year institutions.
The University of Georgia and five collaborative partners are leading the NSF INCLUDES Aspire Alliance—a 5-year, $10 million NSF-funded effort to diversify STEM faculty and promote more inclusive practices.
NSF INCLUDES Aspire Alliance’s Approach
The NSF INCLUDES Aspire Alliance is pursuing three mutually reinforcing strategic goals—all focused on faculty.
- Prepare current and future STEM faculty to be more inclusive and effective in their undergraduate teaching, research mentoring, and advising;
- Diversify the faculty by effectively recruiting, hiring, and retaining underrepresented STEM faculty and transforming practices, policies, and resources to support these efforts; and
- Foster institutional cultures that recognize and value inclusivity and diversity broadly.
The overarching strategy of the Aspire effort is to affect change by aligning and reinforcing professional development and hiring practices of STEM faculty at institutional, regional, and national levels.
- Institutional Change: Building communities of practice, both within and across institutions, to address inclusive hiring and retention practices. Institutions are conducting self-assessment exercises and developing action plans within a cohort of institutions. Key programs include: IAspire Leadership Academy; Institutional Change (IChange) Network; and IThrive Collective.
- Regional Change: Building regional networks of 2- and 4-year institutions and the private sector. These groups are focusing on preparing, developing, and on-boarding skilled and diverse faculty in 2-year colleges where many underrepresented students begin higher education. Aspire is supporting 6 Regional Collaboratives; two in California, two in Texas, and one in Florida and Iowa.
- National Change: Developing resources about inclusive teaching, research mentoring, and advising while partnering with national organizations to promote these inclusive and diverse experiences. Key activities include: Inclusive Professional Framework and Aspire Summer Institute.
Together, these efforts are creating a national systemic change environment for STEM faculty. The University of Georgia Extension within the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia is proud to host the IAspire Leadership Academy.
Learn more about the NSF INCLUDES Aspire Alliance
The NSF INCLUDES Aspire Alliance is cooperatively led by:
- Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
- University of Wisconsin Madison
- University of Georgia
- Iowa State University
- University of California Los Angeles
- University of Texas at El Pason
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. (1834518, 1834522, 1834510, 1834513, 1834526, 1834521). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.