How does The Leadership Alliance Executive Office support participating programs/departments?
The Leadership Alliance has been hosting SR-EIP students for almost thirty years and has accumulated knowledge and experience that will help any interested program/department host a successful SR-EIP program. We offer resources for faculty mentors and build a high-touch relationship with department leads to offer support, training suggestions, project examples, and connections with other faculty mentors to build a community of support for our students. We are actively involved with all participants to ensure that students are engaged and meeting all of their program requirements and that faculty are mentoring SR-EIP students with thoughtfulness, intentionality, and the mission of the Leadership Alliance as the foundation of every interaction.
During the summer mentors are encouraged to attend three mentor meetings hosted by the Leadership Alliance Executive Office – one prior to the program, one in the middle of the program, one at the end of the program – that bring together all Brown mentors, giving them space to share their hopes, experiences, and ideas with support and guidance from the Executive Office’s experienced administrative team. In addition to in-person and virtual support for all mentors and on a 1:1 basis The Leadership Alliance has developed multiple publications – including Mentor Guides (one for STEM and one for Humanities and Social Sciences), and also a guide for Mentees – that support and guide the mentorship process.
The Leadership Alliance offers graduate student training and professional development opportunities through the Sheridan Center and will provide examples of study group syllabi to all programs/departments. The syllabus does not have to be built from scratch, graduate students can learn from the SR-EIP study group leaders who came before them and bring their own creativity, experiences, and teaching strategies to the role.
The Leadership Alliance coordinates much of the administrative process from beginning to end, including advertising the program, receiving applications, delivering those applications to department/program leads, extending offers to students on behalf of the department, closing the application process for students who are not offered an internship opportunity, and working with the students to arrange travel, housing, and participation in the Leadership Alliance National Symposium – the summer’s culminating event, held in Hartford, CT in late July/early August.
The Leadership Alliance offers Professional Development to all students through its Virtual Professional Development Series, an 8-week completely virtual experience that prepares students for application to graduate school. This fulfills an important part of the student’s summer research experience – complimenting the research experience with the skills and strategies that will help them successfully continue and complete their academic journey. This series includes conversations and workshops that demystify the research pathway, introductions to administrators and faculty who share information on the graduate school application process and graduate student work and life, and networking opportunities with peers and near-peers who begin to build a network of support and connection that will help students succeed on their academic journey.