Public Voices Fellowship
Northwestern University is partnering with OpEd Project to present the Public Voices Thought Leadership Fellowship Program beginning in Fall 2012. The Program aims to dramatically increase the influence and contribution of women and minority thought leaders shaping the important conversations of our age.
The root problem is not a lack of knowledge or experience, but a culture in which minority voices (especially women) rarely have the inside information, high-level support and connections to become influential on a large scale.
Follow our Fellows in the media: OpEd Project publications by Northwestern University Fellows
The purpose of the Public Voices Thought Leadership Fellowships is to provide a group of women and minority scholars with resources, support and skills over the course of a year to dramatically increase their visibility and influence as thought leaders in their universities and beyond, whose ideas shape not only academia but also the important conversations of our age. Fellowships will be awarded to 20 scholars who will meet on the Evanston campus four times during the 2012-2013 academic year.
Congratulations to the 2012-2013 Public Voices Thought Leadership Fellows
Amer Aldeen, emergency medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine
Geraldo Cadava, history, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
Jennifer Chan, emergency medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine
Carolyn Chen, sociology and Asian American Studies, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
Charlotte Crane, School of Law
Jaime Dominguez, Latino studies and political science, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
Elizabeth Gerber, mechanical engineering, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
Ruchi Gupta, pediatrics and Institute for Healthcare Studies, Feinberg School of Medicine
Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, political science, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
Namratha Kandula, general medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine
Sun Young Kim, management and organizations, Kellogg School of Management
Leslie McCall, sociology, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
Mary Mulcahy, hematology/oncology, Feinberg School of Medicine
Laura Beth Nielsen, sociology, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
Puneet Opal, neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine
Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, human development and social policy, School of Education and Social Policy
Miriam Sherin, learning sciences, School of Education and Social Policy
Jacqueline Stewart, radio/TV/film, School of Communication
Cristina Traina, religious studies, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
Celeste Watkins-Hayes, African American studies and sociology, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
Program Details
The 2012-2013 program will include:
Quarterly Thought Leadership Seminars designed to expand thinking and amplify expertise. Public Voices Fellows will convene quarterly for a total of four seminars throughout the year: an initial 1.5-day seminar (“Foundations of Thought Leadership”) that begins the fellowship and explores how ideas and individuals become influential through high stakes scenarios and Socratic dialogue; two mid-year 1-day seminars which are designed to stimulate cross-pollination of ideas, find connections between participants’ areas of focus and current news hooks, and generate concrete results (in the form of published op‐eds/ blog posts, TV and radio appearances; speaking opportunities, expert citations in the media, and more); and a final seminar/convening which should ideally be followed by a dinner or other gathering hosted by the university to recognize the accomplishments of the participants. Ideally the university president, provost, or other authority would be able to attend this event. In addition, one or more of the seminars will feature conversations (in person or via teleconference) with top media thought leaders and gatekeepers including the New York Times, CNN, and Wikipedia, and brief media coaching for video. Depending on the duration of the fellowship and potential customization, a short video may be created to highlight participants’ successes, and to showcase them as expert sources for future media.
These seminars will all take place on the Evanston campus:
Thursday, November 1, 2012
9:00am-4:00pm, 206 Arch Room and
Friday, November 2, 2012
9:00am-12:00pm, 206 Arch Room
Friday, January 25, 2013
9:00am-4:00pm, Rebecca Crown Center, 633 Clark Street, Hardin Hall
Friday, March 15, 2013
9:00am-4:00pm, Rebecca Crown Center, 633 Clark Street, Hardin Hall
Friday, May 10, 2013
9:00am-4:00pm, Rebecca Crown Center, 633 Clark Street, Hardin Hall
Dedicated Coaching/Editing: In between each seminar, two or more dedicated OpEd Project Mentor-Editors will be assigned to oversee the group, providing individual coaching and feedback by phone and email, and holding regular (non-obligatory; akin to office hours) check‐in chat sessions and conference calls designed to encourage and support participants in reaching their goals. The dedicated Mentor-Editor(s) will edit, support, cajole, look for news hooks, provide individual feedback and encouragement, and otherwise support participants in any way s/he appropriately can, to ensure participants succeed.
Monthly Media Gatekeeper calls: In between seminars, we will hold in-person or call‐in conversations with top media gatekeepers from outlets such as: The New York Times (on how to become an expert source to a journalist); CNN (on how scholars get booked on TV); Wikipedia (how to contribute to and shape encyclopedic knowledge online); MSNBC (how academics can become major media commentators); and possibly with organizers or gatekeepers from major thought leadership conferences such as TED, Davos or PopTech. These calls also serve to foster cross-pollination of scholars across disciplines and across universities.Ongoing, High-Level Mentoring: Finally, throughout the fellowship year and for one year beyond, Public Voices Thought Leadership women scholars will have access to the OpEd Project’s national network of Mentor-Editors: eighty extremely high‐level media thought leaders (among them: Pulitzer Prize winners, genius grant winners, former New York Times editorial board members, war correspondents, and nationally syndicated columnists) who each volunteer to mentor one woman a month. Public Voices scholars can use this resource any time they would like individual feedback on an idea or argument they are advancing in the form of an op‐ed—as often as they like and as many times as they like throughout the program year and one year beyond.
Application Process
Applications for the 2012-13 Program have now closed.
If you have any questions, please contact Marianna Kepka, Assistant Provost for Academic Administration, at m-kepka@northwestern.edu or 847/491-8548.
About The OpEd Project
The OpEd Project is a social venture founded to increase the range of voices and quality of ideas we hear in the world, starting with more women. We envision a world where the best ideas—regardless of where or whom they come from—will have a chance to be heard and to shape society and the world. We have successfully piloted programs to advance monitory and women’s voices with major organizations and universities nation-wide, with stunning results: nearly 5,000 women and men have come through The OpEd Project, and have taken through leadership positions (op-eds and much more) in virtually every major media outlet, conservatively reaching hundreds of millions of readers. As a direct result participants have gone on to speak on national TV and radio, advance research and teaching careers, earn book contracts (or generate larger/more popular audiences for existing academic books), consult on national policy issues, take new leadership roles at their institutions, brief Congress, and become nationally recognized for their ideas.
OpEd Project publications by Northwestern University Fellows
Public Voices Thought Leadership Fellowships at Other Universities
Princeton University: Public Voices Fellowship Project
Yale University: Yale News, Yale Daily News