The American Association of College and Teacher Education (AACTE) is a leading voice on educator preparation and represents more than 800 postsecondary institutions. Old Dominion University (ODU) and the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies (DCEPS) are proud members of AACTE and the Holmes Scholars Program. This program is dedicated to supporting students from historically underrepresented communities, who are pursuing a doctoral degree in an education-related field. This is important to increase the percentage of students from underrepresented identities in not only doctoral programs, but also as future faculty. For example, less than 10% of all faculty within higher education identify as African American, Latinx, and Native American/Alaskan Native.
The Holmes Scholars Program is designed to enhance the education profession by recruiting, preparing, and sustaining scholar-leaders who reflect and understand the implications of diverse perspectives in the nation's learning communities. It is, by all accounts, a model of best practice. The Holmes Scholars Program provides mentorship, peer support, and rich professional development opportunities to doctoral students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. The Holmes Scholars Program also strives to assist AACTE in developing an exceptional pool of diverse candidates for faculty and leadership positions within education.
See what Holmes Scholars Program participants and alumni at other institutions say about the program by clicking here and see the videos below.
Hear from Holmes Scholars
Why Be a DCEPS Holmes Scholar?
Here in the ODU DCEPS, we are proud to have a Holmes Scholars Program. Why apply? Gain leadership, funding, and support at ODU, but also connect with the AACTE, a national network of professionals in education-related disciplines.
Other benefits:
- Assigned a Holmes mentor: an ODU faculty in your discipline, to collaborate with on research and successfully navigating doctoral studies
- Part of a small community/cohort of other first-year ODU DCEPS doctoral students, who meets monthly over lunch, for discussions, learning, mentoring, community-building, networking, and support
- Funding and mentoring to attend two national conferences each year of the Holmes Program: (a) AACTE: parent organization to the Holmes Program, (b) conference specific to each Scholar’s discipline (i.e., Teaching and Learning, Counseling, etc.)
- Membership in AACTE: National organization for education disciplines
- National network of Holmes Scholars from across the U.S.: current Holmes Scholars and alumni (nearly 70 programs across the U.S.)
- Gain experience presenting at a national conference each year as part of the Holmes Program
- Access to a job fair at the AACTE Annual Meeting/Conference, and access to professional job/position announcements throughout the year
Funding to attend: (a) Writing and Research Retreat, and (b) Holmes Scholars Summer Policy Institute in Washington, DC (participating in AACTE’s Day on the Hill and networking events associated with the AACTE State Leaders Institute)
We have completed our recruitment for our inaugural cohort.
This national program has existed for nearly 25 years across the U.S., with the goal of recruiting, preparing, and sustaining faculty of diverse representation and perspectives in academia, particularly those from historically underrepresented communities in education related disciplines. This model is considered a best practice, providing three-years of mentorship, peer support, and rich professional development opportunities to doctoral students in their doctoral programs, as they prepare to be future faculty.
Criteria and commitment:
- Self-identifies as being from a historically underrepresented community
- Entering first-year as full-time PhD student in DCEPS, in summer/fall 2024
- Has a department graduate assistantship
- Interest in a future full-time academic position post-graduation
- Committing to participate in the three-year DCEPS Holmes Scholars program for duration of doctoral program, which includes outlined mentoring, networking, research support, and conference/travel funding
- Committing to Holmes requirements (i.e., monthly cohort meetings; regular mentor meetings; 2 conferences a year; Lobby Day first summer; Research Retreat second year)
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