AACTE is now the official home of the Holmes Scholars® Program. This unique program provides mentorship, peer support and rich professional development opportunities to doctoral students from underrepresented backgrounds pursuing careers in education. The program also helps member institutions increase the diversity of their faculty by developing an outstanding pool of candidates for faculty and other leadership positions.

In addition to signifying the official transition to AACTE, 2011 also marks the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Holmes Scholars® Program. The AACTE Holmes Scholars® Program was officially announced and introduced to the AACTE membership during the 2011 Annual Meeting & Exhibits in San Diego. Scholars enjoyed a robust, exciting program of activities, including networking events and a job fair, to both welcome the Scholars and celebrate the anniversary.

Upcoming Events

AACTE will be offering a special summer policy institute for Holmes Scholars June 11-15, 2012, in Washington, D.C. The institute will focus on current policy issues affecting educator preparation, and will be an integral part of the AACTE leadership and advocacy activities scheduled for AACTE's 2012 Washington Week. The theme for this year's Holmes Scholars Policy Institute is "Developing Voice: The Role and Place of Diverse Scholars in the Education Policy Arena". The goals are to familiarize Scholars with the most pressing issues currently impacting educator preparation at the federal level, enhance advocacy skills and share first-hand knowledge of the work of several D.C.-based education and research organizations, including those representing minority populations. Scholars will also have opportunities to discuss their dissertation work with DC based education and research professionals, develop a proposal for a presentation at the 2013 AACTE Conference, and learn about job prospects in research and/or policy organizations.

For more information and to register, click here.

Past Events

AACTE, in collaboration with the National Association of Holmes Scholars Alumni (NAHSA), prepared a robust and exciting 2012 Holmes Scholars conference, which took place as a pre-conference event during the AACTE Annual Meeting in Chicago. The 2012 AACTE Holmes Scholars conference included a series of mentoring sessions offered by Holmes alumni on topics related to dissertation work, job search and research publication. A Job Fair was also offered, with the participation of 20 AACTE member institutions. Additionally, several Holmes Scholars presented their research at four concurrent sessions that took place throughout the regular AACTE Annual meeting. Scholar Alumni provided feedback to scholars on these sessions.

Eighteen new doctoral students were recognized as AACTE Holmes Scholars at the conference. The group also elected as new leaders for their Scholars Council:

• President: Kayla Harris, Penn State University
• Vice-President: Stacey Hardin, University of Central Florida
• Secretary: Diandra Prescod, University of Central Florida
• Historian: Keight Tucker, The George Washington University
• Research Coordinator: Thomas Moore, University of Florida

History

The Holmes Scholars® program was established in 1991 by the Holmes Group (which evolved into the Holmes Partnership) with the primary goal of establishing equity, diversity and cultural competence in programs of higher education and PK-12 schools. The program was designed to enrich the scholarly experience and professional training of talented graduate-level students from underrepresented minority backgrounds or students with disabilities pursuing careers in education. Since its inception, more than 600 students have benefited from the program, and more than 200 are now in tenure-track positions, including Deans of Education Lora Bailey (Brenau University), Dianne Mark (Bloomsburg University) and Wanda Blanchett (University of Missouri, Kansas City).

AACTE was a national partner of the Holmes Partnership from its beginning. Since June 2001, AACTE and the George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development, and later the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, jointly assumed the management and coordination of the Holmes Scholars Program for the Holmes Partnership. AACTE staff has also worked very closely with the Scholars Council, an elected body of Scholars representing each region of the United States, as well as with the National Association of Holmes Scholars Alumni (NAHSA) in the preparation of an annual conference and job fair. Scholars' evaluations of the program have consistently shown that its most valuable aspects are the networking and professional development opportunities offered during the Annual Meeting and an annual summer leadership institute.

Program Benefits

Participating institutions will be able to offer their Scholars an array of benefits:

• Membership in a national network of peers with access to dedicated online social networks
• Mentoring opportunities by Holmes Scholars alumni currently in academia and other leadership positions
• Leadership and professional development opportunities at the national level such as participation in conference presentations, review panels, policy/advocacy training and sponsored publications
• Dedicated sessions at AACTE's Annual Meeting & Exhibits

AACTE plans to offer numerous Holmes Scholars activities:

• Incorporate the Holmes Scholars Program as an affiliated program within AACTE
• Collaborate with other organizations that have a vested interest in the Holmes Scholars Program, such as NAHSA, for mentoring and professional development opportunities
• Develop a presence and activities for Holmes Scholars at AACTE Annual Meetings
• Develop opportunities for Holmes Scholars to participate in AACTE Day on the Hill activities
• Alternatively, pending funding, offer a fully fledged Summer Policy Leadership Institute
• Invite Scholars to be part of the pool of reviewers for the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) and for AACTE conferences
• Maintain Holmes Scholars' communications and presence on the Internet via website and social media tools
• Provide enhanced networking and recruitment opportunities by developing an online directory of Scholars organized by research interest

Program Oversight

The AACTE Committee on Global Diversity will act as an advisory group for the development of the AACTE Holmes Scholars Program. The Committee will revise the existing program criteria and devise selection criteria, as well as criteria for types of Scholar support required from participant institutions. The Committee will also oversee the mentoring and professional development activities offered to Scholars in collaboration with NAHSA. Other AACTE groups, such as the Committee on Research and Dissemination, will also engage Scholars in various professional development opportunities.

Program Funding and Fees

• Institutions participating in the program will be assessed an annual fee of $2,000. The fee will be assessed at the time the annual AACTE membership fee is billed and will cover participation in all proposed activities, except those that require additional registration (e.g., Annual Meeting, webinars, Day on the Hill, etc.), in which case a reduced fee would be assessed for Scholars.
• Institutions will be responsible for supporting Scholars' travel costs to participate in AACTE's Annual Meeting and other events organized by the program.
• AACTE will provide free or reduced registration to selected events to participating Scholars.

Membership

The program will be open to all AACTE member institutions. Only those member institutions that enroll in the AACTE Holmes Scholars Program will be able to use the Holmes Scholars® name and to have their doctoral students participate in the networking and professional development opportunities offered through the program. Holmes Partnership institutions that were active when the dissolution process started and had active Holmes Scholars will be grandfathered into the program for the first semester of AACTE's takeover.

Current Holmes Scholars and alumni were invited to participate in the 2011 AACTE Annual Meeting & Exhibits, and their presence was highlighted as the AACTE Holmes Scholars Program is introduced to the membership.

Starting with the 2011 AACTE membership billing cycle, all current Holmes Partnership institutions will need to pay the new fees for their Scholars to continue participating in the program. AACTE will consider offering participation in the program to non-AACTE members after the first year of activities is evaluated.

Further Program and Fund Development

AACTE will now be exploring partnerships with organizations that serve minorities and students with disabilities, as well as potential funders, to develop additional services and activities and to create a scholarship fund for both institutions and Holmes Scholars.

For further information please contact Alicia Ardila-Rey at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Selection Criteria and Program Requirements

Newly selected Scholars should complete the application/information form at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NewHolmesScholar