Search for: All records

Coaching is an important and valuable component of leadership development programs and training for emerging leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Based on the results from individual and focus group interviews of nine participants, we found that coaching is valuable for the leadership growth of emerging STEM leaders from nine historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The participants described the outcomes from coaching as a component of value-based leadership that can inspire and motivate professional growth. They emphasized overwhelmingly that coaches were valuable in improving individual and institutional outcomes through effective leadership. Other themes that emerged from the study include coaching through modeling, inspirational motivation, intentional reflection, resourcefulness, authentic trust, and success-orientation. Results have practical and leadership implications for leadership training to broaden participation in STEM. 

This year-long leadership development program was designed to enhance the cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions of leadership self-efficacy of HBCU STEM leaders to broaden the participation of African American undergraduates in STEM. Learning outcomes guided the development of curricular resources including on-line learning, multi-day residencies, individual leadership assessment, and an action learning project. Mixed-method evaluation showed significant gains on all learning outcomes, with the highest post-test ratings in application of leadership skills, leading faculty in STEM teaching strategies, leading instructional innovation, developing programs for broadening participation in STEM, and increasing campus awareness of national challenges related to STEM. 

The Paleocene-Eocene boundary and the early Eocene recorded the warmest temperatures of the last 60 million years. Global estimates of sea surface temperatures and many climate models have suggested a collapse of the Neotropical forests under high tropical temperatures during the early Eocene, however, the pollen record available indicates that tropical rainforests were able to persist under the increasing temperatures. Here, we test whether increased leaf evapotranspiration and consequent thermal cooling may have provided a mechanism for tropical plants to cope with increasing temperatures and avoid thermal damage to the photosynthetic machinery. We compare leaf anatomical and geochemical data from tropical plants grown under high CO2 – high temperatures at the Smithsonian Tropical Dome Project to determine whether changes in leaf evapotranspiration can be potentially observed in fossilized leaves. Results from these experiments are then compared with late Paleocene (Cerrejón Fm., 58-60 Ma) and recently discovered early Eocene (Bogotá Fm.) leaf cuticles from Colombia, as a means to assess relative changes in leaf evapotranspiration in Neotropical rainforests during the global warming events of the early Eocene.