Mentoring Women Leaders

Dr. Jeanette Magnus, chair of community health sciences at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, has been selected as one of 54 senior women faculty for the 2010–2011 class of fellows at the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Program for Women at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.

It is the only national program dedicated to preparing senior women faculty for leadership at academic health centers. The new fellows join a diverse community of leaders and represent more than 50 medical, dental and public health schools from across the United States and Canada.

“The ELAM fellowship experience is like no other professional development program for academic faculty,” said Dr. Diane Magrane, director of Drexel University College of Medicine's International Center for Executive Leadership in Academics, which hosts the program. “It provides unique opportunities for self-reflection, application of new skills, and entry into a network of women leaders eager to support each other's advancement.”

Magnus, who also is the Cecile Usdin Professor in Women's Health at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, believes that her participation in the program will have significant and lasting impact on her leadership skills.

“I have had the privilege of having challenging and exciting leadership positions since I joined Tulane more than 10 years ago. Participating in the ELAM program gives me an opportunity to obtain a systematic and comprehensive understanding of academic leadership,” Magnus said.

Fellows will participate in online assignments and community-building activities through the end of the program in April 2011 and will attend three week-long in-residence sessions, with the first beginning on Sept. 25.

The mission of the program is to increase the number of women in senior academic leadership positions.