2027 PKAL STEM Leadership Institute: Application Guidelines

Application Components

• SECTION I: Leadership Profile

  Rather than submitting a full or abbreviated CV or résumé, please provide a brief Leadership Profile (no more than one page) highlighting the experiences most relevant to your leadership in undergraduate STEM education reform.

  CURRENT ROLE(S)
  Provide information on your current institution/organization, your position/title, followed by a brief description of your work and one contribution or accomplishment in this role that is especially meaningful to you.

  ONLINE PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
  If available, please provide the link to your LinkedIn or other professional profile.

  LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE
  List up to three formal or informal leadership roles, initiatives, or change efforts most relevant to your work in STEM higher education. Briefly indicate your role or responsibility in each

  LEADERSHIP INFLUENCES
  List up to three people, experiences, programs, or other influences that have significantly shaped how you understand or practice leadership. 

• SECTION II: Leadership Reflection

  The following questions are designed to help us understand how you see the undergraduate STEM landscape, how you understand yourself as a leader, and where you are in your leadership journey. You are welcome to use AI tools to help organize or refine your responses. However, we are not looking for highly polished essays. We are interested in how you make sense of leadership, complexity, and change – at your institution, within your department, across all of higher education, and, perhaps more importantly, within yourself. 
  
  Please respond directly and concisely to each question. There are no “right” answers. We simply want to know how you think about your leadership and where you are in your development as a STEM leader.

  Undergraduate STEM Reform Landscape
  Identify one or two challenges affecting undergraduate STEM education nationally and briefly describe how you see those challenges showing up – or not showing up – at your institution or in your department/unit. What factors make these challenges particularly complex to address? (200 words max)

  Understanding Yourself as a Leader
  Identify one leadership strength you rely on and one aspect of your leadership you are actively working to better understand or navigate. Briefly describe how each shows up in your work with others. (150 words max)

  Your Own Pressing Leadership Challenge
  Briefly describe a STEM reform initiative, challenge, or opportunity that requires you to lead – not simply manage or complete a task. What makes this challenge difficult for you, and what would you like to become better able to do as a leader?

• SECTION III: Letter of Support

  Please submit a letter of support from an individual on your campus, who is familiar with your leadership and your work in undergraduate STEM education reform. The letter should help us understand the context in which you are leading and affirm your institution’s or organization’s support for your participation in the PKAL STEM Leadership Institute.
  
  The letter should briefly address:

  • your readiness to engage in an intensive leadership development experience;
  • a leadership challenge, opportunity, or area of responsibility that makes participation in the Institute particularly relevant at this time;
  • how your continued leadership development could benefit the department, institution, organization, or broader STEM community; and
  • the institution’s or organization’s support for your full participation in the Institute.