Course Overview
The ASCEND program is designed to empower every faculty member by fostering a culture of inclusivity, professional growth, and leadership across our academic community. This program develops skills crucial for thriving in an academic environment and emphasizes the value of contributions from all faculty. This 5-month longitudinal career development program will provide resources, information and tools important for EUSOM faculty academic and professional success. The course will feature didactic sessions, experiential components, along with peer mentoring and networking. Participants will also be paired with organizational leaders as coaches during this process. This program supports participants to transform systems to better address the needs of their academic community and patient populations, which is crucial for achieving health equity.
Applications for this course are currently closed.
Objectives
- Enhance peer mentoring and sense of community
- Develop/enhance leadership and career development skills
- Promote reflective learning through exchange of experiences, challenges, and successes encountered by faculty from varied backgrounds in academic medicine
From the Audience
“This was a wonderful program and experience. 100% would recommend it to others. Being a part of this program has pushed me to pursue advancement in rank as well as pursue leadership positions outside of Emory.”
"I am a junior faculty member despite being somewhat seasoned in academic medicine. That being said, I cannot thank Dr. Bussey-Jones, Mrs. Rainey, and the countless folks involved in developing and supporting the Health Equity Advocacy Course and ASCEND programs. Being frank, Emory is a very large and difficult-to-navigate system. That being said, these programs connected me to key personnel, challenged me to develop a position and stress its importance to state legislators, learn more about myself and my leadership style, and even have a sounding board to discuss all of the highs and lows of being in academic medicine. I left the programs feeling empowered and more closely connected to the current and future leaders of Emory. Highly, highly, highly recommend!"
-Faculty Participants
Eligibility
All Emory School of Medicine Faculty are eligible to apply.
Program Components
- Interactive Workshops and Seminars: Sessions led by internal and external experts will focus on developing skills in areas such as academic promotion, self-advocacy, and leadership.
- Reflective Learning: Articles from academic journals, lay press, TED Talks, and other relevant media serve as catalysts for discussions on the career experiences, challenges, and successes encountered by faculty from varied backgrounds in academic medicine.
- Peer Mentoring. Participants meet in learning communities during each session to provide support and accountability to one another to successfully negotiate challenges, foster resiliency, and achieve personal goals. This also fosters a sense of belonging and community amongst faculty members.
- Leadership coach: Participants will be paired with leaders (chiefs, chairs, deans with clinical and academic leadership roles) from across the school of medicine to serve as a coach and advisor through this process. These coaching sessions encourage the sharing of practical insights and career strategies.
- Career development project goal. Participants commit to making progress on a project that advances their career development or leadership goals throughout the program, with support from a network of peer and senior mentors.
- Participant commitment. Participants commit to attend and actively participate in at least 6 of the sessions. Participants also commit to make progress and present their project and engage in self-reflection and honest conversation with peer and senior mentors.
Cost
There is no cost for this program.
Structure and Time Commitment
The course includes 8 sessions to be held 2-3 times per month from August through December 2025. The sessions will meet on Tuesday evenings from 5:30 – 8 p.m. and will include dinner. Most of the sessions will be held on the Grady campus. The kick-off and finale events may be off campus. Faculty accepted to the program are required to complete at least 6 of the 8 sessions.
How to Apply
The application window is open.
All interested candidates must submit an application form and CV. There is no limit to the number of nominations from a department.
The application form consists of four parts:
- Candidate information
- Candidate statement (required for all nominations)
- Chairperson or Division Chief statement (required only for nominations by leadership)
- Candidate CV (we strongly prefer CVs in the official EUSOM template)
Nominations can be made directly by applicants or by department chairs or division chiefs.
The deadline to submit an application is May 30, 2025.
The ASCEND Program is an investment in individual careers and a strategic initiative to promote lasting institutional change. Through fostering a culture of excellence, respect, and continuous learning, the program aims to equip our faculty with the skills and insights necessary to drive meaningful progress within our academic community.
Course Director Information
Associate Dean of Professional Development, Emory at Grady
Carter Smith Sr. Professor, Department of Medicine
