The Colman Leadership Program is an annually offered program that seeks to enroll up to 40 Ph.D.* students for an intensive 3-day program focused on providing participants with skills and knowledge that will support their development as inclusive leaders in graduate school and beyond.
The Colman Inclusive Leadership Program introduces students to a range of practical skills, theory pertaining to leadership, and special topics relevant for application in both academic and professional contexts. With a varied format including readings, interactive group activities, case studies, and discussions, program participants will engage in the following topics:
The Colman Inclusive Leadership Program is for you if you are prepared to engage in intensive self-discovery with similarly committed peers with diverse identities, backgrounds, interests and experiences. While this program values managerial and process skill development, our focus is on the individual learning and cultivating their leadership skills as an inclusive thought leader and guide for implementing a vision.
There was a lot of self-exploration time that was beneficial to learn more about myself (e.g. Values sorting, Emotional Intelligence, Conflict Management). I valued learning about how an inclusive leadership style was different from a traditional hierarchical model. It was reassuring to know that my work on my own self-awareness, boundary-setting, etc. is something that will benefit me as a leader going forward.
Cornell Inclusive Leadership Program will be offered as a hybrid (virtual & in-person) June 14-16, 2022, 1-5:00 p.m. EST (Virtual) & *June 17 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (in-person).
Admitted students who commit to enrolling in the Colman Inclusive Leadership Program must commit to participating in the full program. The program does not permit late arrivals or early departures on any of the programs dates.
Below is an example schedule of the program:
Consideration will be given to applications from Ph.D.** students from all backgrounds (domestic and international).
**Art department MFA students are also invited to apply, given that the MFA is the terminal degree and the degree commonly held by faculty in your field.
Applications are not currently being accepted. Check back in mid-April!
Sonya Cunningham, Director, Diversity Programs in Engineering: sgc95@cornell.edu
Sara Xayarath Hernández, associate dean for inclusion & student engagement, Cornell Graduate School: sh267@cornell.edu
The program did not meet my expectations – it EXCEEDED them. I thought I’d walk away with some tips on how to inhabit the role of a classic leader and mold myself to some expected archetype. Instead, I learned how all of us have leadership potential and can not only find our flavor of leadership within ourselves but inspire it in others by appreciating their strengths.
As a non-traditional student from a multicultural background, I strive to leverage my experiences toward building belonging in academia. I applied to the program knowing there was more to learn about myself and about best practices for inclusive leadership, but I was amazed at how effectively the program reached core issues and showed us how to excel as we navigate through them.
In spring 2012, John and Jane Colman founded the Colman Family Endowed Fund for Leadership within the Office of Diversity Programs in Engineering (DPE) to establish the Colman Inclusive Leadership Program for Ph.D. students in engineering and other related STEM fields. In summer 2015, the Graduate School Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement (OISE) established a partnership with DPE to make the Colman Inclusive Leadership Program open to all Ph.D. and M.F.A. students from across all graduate fields. In 2020, OISE was awarded a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation supporting the engagement of doctoral students from other institutions affiliated with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s University Centers for Exemplary Mentoring, and M.S. and Doctoral students from institutions affiliated with the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership, and the development of stand-alone inclusive leadership modules.
