Ramirez named fellow in IAspire Leadership Academy

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ASPIRE logo (the National Alliance for Inclusive & Diverse STEM Faculty)

 

 

 

 

 

Materials Science and Engineering Professor Antonio Ramirez has been named a fellow in the third cohort of the IAspire Leadership Academy, a program aimed at helping STEM faculty from underrepresented backgrounds ascend to leadership roles at colleges and universities.

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Antonio J. Ramirez  |  Professor, Welding Engineering; Director, Ma2JIC

The academy is part of the Aspire Alliance’s Institutional Change Initiative, which the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the University of Georgia lead. The National Science Foundation (NSF)-backed alliance is working across post-secondary institutions to develop more inclusive institutional cultures and create a more inclusive and diverse STEM professoriate.

“We’re excited that so many institutions were able to support the participation of emerging STEM leaders from underrepresented groups in the third cohort of the IAspire Leadership Academy,” said Howard Gobstein, director of the Aspire Alliance and executive vice president at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). “More than ever, we see the need for institutions to cultivate and support diversity in faculty and university leadership, and this year’s class of fellows will be well positioned to advance these goals.”

The leadership academy provides professional development for academic leaders from underrepresented groups so they can aspire to and succeed in more senior leadership roles, thus broadening participation in academic administration. Fellows will learn effective executive leadership skills for increasingly complex higher education environments as well as strategies for influencing institutional transformation in their current and future leadership positions.

“In addition to being a prolific researcher and outstanding instructor at Ohio State, Antonio commits his time and talent to understanding the value of diversity and inclusion,” said College of Engineering Dean Ayanna Howard. “I am thrilled that he has been selected by the IAspire Leadership Academy so that he can grow and share what he learns with others.”

Ramirez joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in 2015. He teaches welding metallurgy and additive manufacturing for the department's welding engineering program, and he is the director of the Manufacturing and Materials Joining Innovation Center (Ma2JIC), the largest Industry-University Cooperative Research center co-sponsored by the NSF. He also contributes to the department's climate and inclusivity initiatives as a faculty mentor. His diverse personal and professional experiences support a philosophy that the more diverse a team, the more success they reap.

“It is an honor to provide this leadership development opportunity to so many current and rising leaders from across the country,” said Rochelle Sapp, IAspire Leadership Academy Director and Leadership Development Specialist in the Office of Learning and Organizational Development at the University of Georgia. “Advancing diverse and underrepresented groups of leaders in STEM higher education is critical to the success of higher education and society, especially providing these leaders opportunities to focus on their personal leadership skills, goals, and style. We are also hopeful about the power of community among the fellows to create a lasting foundation of mutual support to advance their ongoing development and success.”

The 27 participating faculty and administrators were selected through a competitive, holistic review of their applications. The other fellows selected for third cohort of the IAspire Leadership Academy are:

  • Nicole Beebe, Professor & Chair, University of Texas at San Antonio
  • Astrid Cardona, Professor & Chair, University of Texas at San Antonio
  • Jill Coleman, Associate Dean, Ball State University
  • Lindsay Corneal, Associate Professor and Assistant Director, Grand Valley State University
  • Qiana Cutts Givens, Assistant Professor, Mississippi State University
  • Maria del Guadalupe (Lupe) Davidson, Associate Dean and Woodburn Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies, West Virginia University
  • Pamela E. Harris, Associate Professor, Williams College
  • Kayunta Johnson-Winters, Associate Professor, University of Texas at Arlington
  • Wahyu Lestari, Professor, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
  • Kaela Martin, Associate Professor, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
  • Paige Novak, Professor, University of Minnesota
  • Esther Obonyo, Director and Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University
  • Ruth Ochia, Professor of Instruction, Temple University
  • Georgia Papavasiliou, Professor, Illinois Tech
  • Samiksha Raut, Associate Professor, the University of Alabama at Birmingham
  • Wendy Reffeor, Professor and Chair, Grand Valley State University
  • Lyndsay Rhodes, Associate Professor, Florida Gulf Coast University
  • Joaquin Rodriguez Lopez, Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Breigh Roszelle, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies, University of Denver
  • Erin Sheets, Associate Dean and Professor, University of Minnesota Duluth
  • Melissa Tehee, Associate Professor, Utah State University
  • Elizabeth Torres, Professor, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
  • Julie Tucker, Associate Professor, Oregon State University
  • Thuy Vu, Associate Professor & Associate Chair, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
  • Duane Watson, Professor and Associate Dean, Vanderbilt University
  • Robin Zhang, Professor and Chair, Murray State University

 

Learn more about the IAspire Leadership Academy on the Aspire Alliance IAspire Leadership Academy site

IASPIRE press release August 10, 2021

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