FOA- Limited Submission – Howard Hughes Medical Institute – Driving Change Initiative; February 7, 2020

 

Purpose: The goal of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Driving Change (DC) initiative is to effect genuine and lasting culture change on research university campuses so that undergraduate students from all backgrounds, particularly those who belong to historically excluded groups, will excel in STEM and graduate from college well prepared to pursue advanced degrees and eventually assume leadership roles in STEM. This initiative encourages a comprehensive approach to culture change with three interlocking elements:

 

(1) The first element (student-centered suite of activities) focuses on the development of a coherent set of activities that provides a robust framework to support student success in STEM. Each grantee campus will create its version of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Meyerhoff Scholars Program (MYSP), committing to achieve the outcomes and honor the underlying values of each of the MYSP components.

 

(2) The second element (institution-centered approaches) focuses on creating a more inclusive STEM learning environment that affects all STEM students at the university. Each campus planning to submit a grant proposal will examine its current environment through a self-study. The findings of the self-study will identify practices and behaviors that should change in order to achieve greater inclusivity in the learning environment for all students, especially those students who are from groups historically excluded from STEM.

 

(3) The third element (community-centered learning) reaches beyond the individual grantee university by convening a learning community of institutions that are engaged in DC. The DC learning community will meet regularly throughout the five years of the initiative to share their aspirations, experiences, and progress.

 

The invited DC proposal begins with an institutional self-study that will inform the university as it shapes its strategy and designs its activities. Each finalist university will have the opportunity to communicate its commitment and readiness to engage in genuine culture change with respect to diversity and inclusion.

 

This internal call is to identify a program director who will bring not only experience in research, education, and grant administration, but also the strong interpersonal relationship skills required of a collaborative leader who cultivates authentic shared ownership of the program. The program director will work closely with the Office of the Provost and other senior UK leaders to develop and implement this institutional initiative.  The Program Director will work with a core program leadership team at the institutional level and will be responsible for managing the complex dynamics of establishing this new program and negotiating how it will fit into the evolving institutional environment.

 

Funding Amount/ Project Period: Up to $500,000 per year for 5 years

 

Link to Funding Opportunity Announcement

 

Institutional Limit:  1

 

Internal Competition: To participate in the university’s selection process,please upload the following,assembled into a single PDF file, to the Office of the Vice President for Research via this portal with a copy to your Associate Dean for Research by January 28, 2020:

·         Name and department or affiliation of the proposed Project Director;

·         Title of program and/or funding opportunity announcement number;

·         Please respond to the following items prompted from the Letter of Intent request (2 pages maximum):

1.     Briefly describe how your past experiences in leading large grants, projects, or even organizational units make you appropriate (working with senior leadership) for establishing a new program in the institution. 

2.     Briefly discuss how you would contribute expertise and perspective towards a collective understanding of diversity and inclusion.

3.     Please describe if there are other key personnel or partners working with you that you would expect to involve in the project.  

4.     Is there any additional information you wish to have considered?

·         Brief biographical sketch

 

A committee will be convened to review the material and make a recommendation for a Program Director, but may also consider submissions for participation in the program leadership team. 

 

For questions or issues with submission through the portal, email the limited submission mailbox (limitedsubmissions@uky.edu), or call 257-2861.

 

Agency Deadline: Required Letter of Intent – February 7, 2020; invited full proposal (with self-study) January 2021