Back in August 2012, Dr. Akif Uzman, Dean of the College of Sciences and Technology, joined 39 other Vision and Change Leadership Fellows for the kickoff of a yearlong fellowship: two workshops held in Chevy Chase, Maryland at the Howard Hughes Medial Institute's (HHMI) headquarters. These Fellows were selected after an application and peer review process managed by the American Institute for Biological Sciences and were all former department chairs or deans selected from community colleges, liberal arts colleges, comprehensive universities, and research-intensive universities from across the country.
The mission of the Fellows was to develop a framework for implementing the recommendations of the 2011 report "Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action." Launched by HHMI, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and the National Science Foundation, the official name of the group was the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Science Education (PULSE).
Twelve years later, the Fellows continue to work together! In fact, the group became an independent 501c3 in 2016, providing STEM departments with resources and guidance to align undergraduate life sciences programs with established and emerging educational best practices—all in the name of engaging students and encouraging them to excel, regardless of background and identity. PULSE currently has more than 55 active Fellows and has worked with more than 330 STEM departments across all institution types. Through grants and donations, PULSE offers its programs to any institution regardless of ability to pay.
Dean Uzman was recently elected to serve as PULSE's third president, although he served on the governing council prior to PULSE's becoming an independent nonprofit. As an organization of academic leaders across six time zones, PULSE Fellows use a sociocratic governance structure to coordinate its activities. Uzman believes deeply in the work of PULSE to provide STEM departments with self-study assessment programs to develop fully integrated STEM education and student support programs. As president of PULSE, he will oversee the continuation of that program as well as PULSE's regional workshops and departmental visioning and planning workshops.
"PULSE has been the most valuable academic leadership development experience of my career," said Uzman. "My service as its president for the next two years is to give back for all the wisdom and critical friend discussions I have received from my PULSE colleagues."