Faculty Career Development
Other Resources
Chicago Collaboration For Women In STEM
Northwestern University and the University of Chicago are committed to the advancement of women faculty in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines at our institutions. Through the joint Navigating the Professoriate and Beyond Tenure programs and research projects, we aim to:
- identify local obstacles our women faculty see to success in the sciences
- encourage women to be deliberate and purposeful in planning their careers
- open women's eyes to leadership possibilities
- create and expand women's networks
- develop model programs and policies for the academy
Our two institutions are committed to diversifying our science faculties and to providing an environment that enhances career success. We recognize this as an essential component of leadership in higher education in the twenty-first century.
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Searle Center for Teaching
The Searle Center for Teaching Excellence is a nationally recognized resource of highly skilled experts in the science of teaching and learning. Among their many activities is a focus on assisting faculty to develop their teaching skills. The Searle Fellows Program annually accepts 12 to 18 faculty into a nine-month long sequence to learn more about the science of teaching and learning applied to a teaching project of the Fellows design. Typically, three to six Feinberg faculty participate in the Searle Fellows program. Dr. Rick McGee assists with mentoring and assisting Feinberg faculty.
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Programs
First Mondays Faculty Development:
Navigating a Research Career in Basic, Translational and Clinical Sciences
This series serves as an introduction to some of the most important aspects of transitioning from researcher-in-training to investigator leading a research team or collaborating with peers. It is a joint venture of the Faculty Affairs Office, Feinberg School of Medicine, and the NUCATS Institute. Questions about the series can be directed to Rick McGee, PhD, Associate Dean for Faculty Recruitment and Professional Development (r-mcgee@northwestern.edu or 312-503-1737).
Complete list of upcoming First Monday sessions
NIH Grant Writers Groups for Early Faculty
There is no skill or activity that more explicitly marks the progression of a scientist from novice to expert, from someone doing research on others' ideas to constructing and studying their own novel ideas, than the preparation of written research proposals. Many biomedical PhD programs have recognized this essential skill and have integrated it as one of the early milestones of the PhD through inclusion as part of comprehensive or candidacy exams, or as separate exercises.
Beyond this early learning phase, young or early scientists have historically learned the essential skill of writing research grants from mentors. Some mentors do a superb job of teaching the art and science of proposal writing, but at best they are in the minority and the rest range from providing minimal guidance to none at all. The presumption has typically been that this is the only way one can learn to write grants, along with the alternative of learning it "by the seat of your pants".
Recognizing the inadequacy of this as a teaching design strategy, a wide array of efforts have been mounted at institutions or through consulting and business arrangements to provide grant writing workshops. These workshops typically last a few hours to a few days, are largely focused on NIH-style proposals, and many are very well designed. However, having a conceptual idea of what goes into an NIH-style proposal is very different from actually constructing one. Furthermore, when one actually tries to write a proposal there is complex interplay between the rhetorical patterns and styles of writing and the scientific thinking and research design itself.
Over the past 12 years, Dr. Richard McGee has developed an alternative approach to teaching the art and science of writing NIH-style research proposals that he has used at various levels of training. This method has become the cornerstone of faculty development efforts to assist faculty who are in their early career stages to develop research programs at Northwestern University. Read a brief description of this process.
Grantsmanship for the Research Professional
This course teaches and enhances skills associated with effective grant opportunity identification, preparation, writing and submission to early to mid-career investigators engaged in research. Strategies for developing grant proposals that support both hypothesis-driven and need-based research activities are presented, with a focus on opportunities from government, corporate and foundation sectors. The course is appropriate for researchers at all levels planning and/or conducting or supporting research in the biological, clinical, life sciences, medical and natural sciences; social and behavioral sciences; physical sciences and mathematics; engineering; law; education; and technology development. Topics covered in this two-day workshop include: Grant Resources; Funding Agencies; Funding Opportunities; Research Program Development; Proposal Planning; Review Process; Proposal Components; Specific Aims Section; New NIH Research Strategy/Project Description Section; Budget Development; Proposal Submission; Post Award Primer; and Team Science.
- October 27-28, 2011 (Chicago campus); March 1-2, 2012 (Evanston campus); and July 19-20, 2012 (Chicago campus)
- Tuition: $595.00; Most Northwestern-paid employees are eligible for significant SCS tuition discount, contact HR and then SCS directly; tuition fee can be paid in part/full via an NU Financial Chart String, contact SCS directly.
- Registration
Questions about this course can be directed to Holly Falk-Krzesinski, PhD, Research Assistant Professor and Director, Research Team Support & Development, NUCATS Institute (h-falk@northwestern.edu or 312-503-0889).
This page last updated Apr 3, 2012