2024 Health Sciences Leadership Academy for Early Career Faculty

Thursday, January 25, 2024 - Thursday, December 12, 2024
S100 Starzl Biomedical Science Tower

This year-long professional development program for early career faculty members is designed to cultivate a generation of transformative academic leaders through shared leadership training.

As an academic leader, your career success is contingent upon your ability to foster positive working relationships among your team members and your commitment to a supportive and inclusive culture in which all members can achieve their full potential. Whether you are a basic scientist, clinical investigator, translational investigator, or an educator, being able to effectively attract, retain, and lead a diverse group of high-achieving individuals will have direct impact upon your productivity and career success.

In contrast to the traditional authoritative model of leadership, this program is anchored in the concept of “shared leadership” where leadership is broadly distributed among team members based upon the skills and experience of each individual member. Learning how to share leadership – by engaging and empowering individual team members and proactively delegating responsibility – will maximize the collective strength of your team, resulting in increased productivity, and achievement of the goals and outcomes which matter most to you.  

Academic leadership development is a journey that requires time and commitment. Rather than being immersed in leadership training over a 2-3 day period, this program has been structured into 11 integrated components that span one year, providing an incremental learning approach to your leadership development. Six sessions that focus exclusively upon the concepts of shared leadership are spread out across the year-long curriculum and serve as the cornerstones to the program. 

The five additional workshops scheduled throughout the year build upon each other and specifically address the issues and challenges relevant to leaders in academia; that is, developing a personal leadership style that leverages your strengths; creating a culture of respect and open communication that contributes to outstanding team building; acquiring skills to create a safe and empowering environment by confronting bias, prejudice, or microaggressions; overcoming difficult situations that disrupt productivity; negotiating for what you need to be successful; and leading change through times of uncertainty.

You apply your new leadership skills immediately by developing and executing a customized leadership project over the course of the program. A program facilitator will help you craft a personalized leadership project or plan based upon your professional objectives. Small learning groups will monitor your progress on your individual project and provide you with peer support, encouragement, and accountability.  

One session a month is a small investment in your future success. Due to the progressive design of this program, successful completion requires participation in all sessions.

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PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION (CME) CREDITS
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
LEADERSHIP ACADEMY INSTRUCTIONAL TEAM
CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND LEADERSHIP ACTION PLANS
ACCOUNTABILITY TEAMS
LETTER OF NOMINATION
SELECTION CRITERIA
PROGRAM FEE
IMPORTANT DATES
TESTIMONIALS
APPLICATION FORM
CONTACT US

Program Objectives

• Establish the concepts of self-awareness and introspection as being fundamental leadership attributes
• Instill equity, diversity, and inclusion as core values of a transformative leader
• Foster team cohesiveness and productivity
• Promote problem-solving strategies in response to difficult situations
• Advocate effective negotiation strategies to achieve career goals
• Formulate a personal career development and leadership action plan

Continuing Medical Education (CME) Credits

This program has been approved for CME credits.

Program Schedule

Sessions are in-person at S100A Thomas E. Starzl Biomedical Science Tower, 200 Lothrop Street. Hybrid participation is not available. 

All sessions include a continental breakfast; the January and December all-day sessions include lunch.

Leadership Academy Instructional Team

We have engaged a team of nationally-recognized professional consultants as well as accomplished faculty members to facilitate your journey as an academic leader. View the 2024 Faculty Leadership Academy Instructional Team.

Career Development and Leadership Action Plans

As part of the admission process, applicants are asked to provide a personal statement reflecting upon what they hope to accomplish by participating in this program. The goal(s) articulated by applicants will contribute to admission decisions and serve as the foundation of individual career development and leadership action plans to be completed over the course of the program and shared during the final capstone session.

Accountability Teams

Participants will be assigned to small learning groups who will both support and hold each other accountable for completing their coursework and projects. Participants will also have the opportunity to develop more substantial peer mentoring relationships through their interactions with their teammates.

Letter of Nomination

A letter of nomination from a division chief, department chair, dean, or institute director is required as part of the application process. The letter should reflect a strong commitment to the applicant’s career and support for the applicant to attend the entire program. Letters should indicate if the applicant has independent funding and if so, the source of the funding. The source of payment for the program fee should also be included, e.g., departmental funds, professional development funds, or personal funds.

Nomination letters should be addressed to "Faculty Leadership Academy Admissions Committee”, University of Pittsburgh, 301 Scaife Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15261," and uploaded as a PDF or Word document as part of the application process.

Selection Criteria

1. Early career faculty member, typically an assistant professor, with a primary or secondary appointment in the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences (Dental Medicine, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Public Health) in basic science, clinical or translational research, or in education.
2. Clear commitment to an academic career.
3. Strength of personal statement indicating how your participation in this program will help to advance your academic career as an investigator or educator.
4. Commitment to attending the entire program.
5. Strength of the letter of nomination.
6. All components of the electronic application must be completed prior to deadline. No components of the electronic application will be accepted after the deadline.

Program Fee

Important Dates

Testimonials

Read what your colleagues thought of previous Health Sciences Faculty Leadership Academies: Read the Testimonials >

Application Form

Applications are no longer being accepted for the 2024 Leadership Academy.

Contact Us

For information or assistance concerning the program, please contact Dr. Darlene Zellers, Program Director, at zellersd@pitt.edu.

Office of Academic Career Development
301 Scaife Hall
3550 Terrace Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Phone: 412-648-8486 Fax: 412-648-8121
oacd@pitt.edu

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