The RISE UPP PROMISE Academy Alliance for the University System of Maryland (USM) is an initiative aimed at broadening participation in the STEM professoriate to better reflect our great nation and better serve our students. The Alliance is a collaborative multi-institution effort that involves supporting postdoctoral scholars (hired at participating institutions) through professional development and mentoring with the goal of ultimately retaining these scholars as tenure track faculty, preferably within USM.
Postdocs in the PROMISE Academy (Fellows) have an appointment at a participating institution, and receive added opportunities from across the university system including a cohort of same stage peers, an enhanced research and mentor network, and access to professional development at different campuses. Institutions participating in the PROMISE Academy Alliance have the benefit of engaging with top talent from which they can recruit, accessing resources developed by the Alliance to improve academic climate and inclusivity, and working on cross-institutional policy and practice changes that will ultimately improve their institutions and the entire USM.
The PROMISE Academy was originally funded by the National Science Foundation’s AGEP program and has since been funded by the RISE UPP program, an Eddie Bernice Johnson INCLUDES initiative. RISE UPP aims to use the PROMISE Academy as a model for other state systems to consider postdoc-to-professoriate approaches. The funding provided by these programs helps provide critical support to postdoctoral scholars who are working to establish successful careers in STEM, and to transform the departments, institutions and state university systems into organizations in which these scholars will want to come and stay for long, productive careers.
If you would like to learn more about the RISE UPP PROMISE Academy, including how to participate as a Fellow or an institution, you can visit our website at https://promiseacademyalliance.com/.