Purdue Sloan Center Drives Systemic Change and Faculty Career Preparation
At the 2024 SREB Institute on Teaching and Mentoring and the Sloan Grantee Leadership Meeting in New Orleans, Purdue University’s Sloan Center for Systemic Change (SCSC) demonstrated its commitment to transforming graduate education. These influential gatherings offered Purdue’s SCSC team the opportunity to connect with other Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Centers for Systemic Change grant recipients to discuss effective strategies for building equitable graduate experiences.
The SREB Institute, the nation’s largest gathering doctoral scholars focused on broadening participation, plays a critical role in supporting graduate students aspiring to academic careers. Purdue University supported over 20 graduate students to attend from across STEM disciplines. With dedicated sessions for scholars exploring faculty roles, students gain invaluable insights into faculty life, hiring processes, and career paths in higher education. Purdue’s SCSC team was on hand to help students make connections with universities and faculty leaders, guiding their transition to academic careers.
Graduate students came away from these discussions with a renewed vision and essential networks for their futures in academia. A representative of Purdue SCSC shared graduate student “stories remind us of the resilience needed to drive change and the impact we can create for future generations.”
Through partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, as well as the Sloan Scholars Mentoring Network (SSMN) and NACME Inc., the Purdue SCSC team is set to launch the next phase of their systemic change initiative. The team is made of representatives from the College of Engineering, College of Science, and Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars (OGSPS). The team left New Orleans inspired and ready to implement strategies that will further elevate Purdue’s support for graduate students in higher education.
Purdue’s participation in these events reflects its ongoing dedication to enhancing the graduate experience and preparing the next generation of faculty to lead with a commitment to inclusive excellence.
