CASL FELLOWS ADVANCE STEM, LEADERSHIP SKILLS AT HBCUS, OTHER INSTITUTIONS

The Center for the Advancement of STEM Leadership (CASL) allows STEM higher education leaders in HBCUs to reposition their leadership from the margins to the center of broadening participation and active agents in research, practice, and discourse.

Housed within Fielding’s Marie Fielder Center for Democracy, Leadership, and Education, CASL began in 2016 as a joint enterprise, with generous funding from the National Science Foundation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCUUP), a $9 million, five-year grant. CASL is a collaborative partnership involving Fielding Graduate University, along with the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), North Carolina A&T State University (NCA&T), and the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). In addition to being a partner in this work, Fielding Graduate University manages the national office in Washington, DC. In this capacity, Dr. Orlando L. Taylor, co-Principal Investigator, serves as the Executive Director and Dr. Nicole Retland, Director of Operations, runs the day-to-day operations of the Center.

CASL, through its partnerships and 67 affiliate institutions, seeks to understand the nature of HBCU leadership, document it, and use it to produce new STEM leaders at HBCUs and other institutions. It addresses pressing issues through research, outreach, strategic initiatives, and education.

The annual CASL Fellows Program furthers participants’ leadership practices and a vision for a more diverse and inclusive STEM field, and CASL Fellows lean into their authenticity and legitimacy. Since 2017, CASL has had four cohorts of STEM faculty participate as CASL Fellows, comprised of 64 individuals. In late 2022 and throughout 2023, CASL has hosted three residencies for its latest cohort.

Sabita Saldanha, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biology at Alabama State University, 2021-22 CASL Fellow, and 2022-23 CASL Fellows Program Coach, said she wanted to blend her STEM expertise and research with more polished leadership skills, extended grant opportunities, and personal growth.

"CASL enriched me in many ways and helped me identify who I am and what I can do to achieve the things I want,” Dr. Saldanha said. “I was more research-oriented but had developed a fondness for teaching, and I’ve always wanted to come up with ways to help students understand STEM better. I likely wouldn’t have had the experiences and opportunities I’ve had without being a part of this program, and CASL has been an eye opener for me in terms leadership, especially in a large university setting. We can be leaders in different areas within the organization – no matter where we find ourselves.”

Tonya Smith-Jackson, PhD, CPE, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at North Carolina A&T State University and 2017-18 CASL Fellow, said the program helped further teaching, research, and engagement on her own campus and transformational work.

“I realized that I needed to fully commit to academia because that is where I saw the most opportunity to transform people and minds, share knowledge, and provide opportunities,” Dr. Smith-Jackson said. “CASL really focused on centering HBCUs as institutions of influence and not as shadows of an age where we were simply discriminated against. HBCUs are great spaces for Black people to grow and develop.”

Bryan Kent Wallace, PhD, Dean of Graduate Studies and Assistant Professor of Psychics at Fisk University and 201920 CASL Fellow, has a long educational and professional background in STEM. His work allows math and other STEM aspects to be more accessible to underserved minorities.

“CASL was the icing on the cake that gave me this broad understanding,” Dr. Wallace said. “I have focused on leadership in STEM and other CASL-led initiatives that have really led to my successes to the point. I cannot separate everything that has happened in my career after CASL without saying that CASL played a significant role in the new perspectives and opportunities.”

To explore lasting impacts of the CASL Fellows Program in increasing the confidence, ability, understanding, and awareness of leaders regarding broadening participation in STEM, a survey was administered to CASL Fellow alums in early 2023. Survey findings show that the CASL Fellows program has been successful in meeting the goal to increase the capacity of HBCU leaders for Broadening Participation (BP) in STEM. Additionally, several respondents have engaged in various activities associated with leading for broadening participation since their engagement as Fellows, including seeking and receiving funding for BP projects, engaging with other CASL Fellows or leaders/staff, and receiving promotions. Through the open-ended responses, many respondents described specific aspects of the CASL Leadership Fellows Program to which they attribute aspects of their growth as leaders.