The Dream Fellowship Program

The Dream Fellowship Program: A Coalition for Aspiring Leaders is an exciting new opportunity to transform the representation of new and aspiring leaders on WMU’s campus. Sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Office of Institutional Equity, The Dream Fellowship Program cultivates an environment for inclusive leadership development as an institutional priority. Given the underrepresentation of diverse leaders across the nation and within WMU Academic Affairs, the Dream Fellowship Program seeks to close this gap.

The Office of the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs will select a cohort of aspiring leadership fellows, drawn from the ranks of tenured faculty or staff with at least 5-10 years of leadership experience, to apply for a mentee and shadowing role in their academic unit or college. Applicants must identify a specific career aspirational goal and a unit sponsor, who has agreed to establish a professional mentoring relationship to support the development of the fellow for their "dream career."

The applicant will also be required to choose a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) project to accomplish during their fellowship. The mentor and mentee will identify an agreed-upon area of DEI emphasis to support both the mentor and mentee’s needs and aspirations. Fellows will receive $2,000 in travel funds for professional development upon the completion of the program; the fellowship must be completed within one year. The program will be facilitated by Dr. Staci Perryman-Clark, director of the Institute for Intercultural and Anthropological Studies, and Dr. Evelyn Winfield-Thomas, executive director of the Office of Institutional Equity.