Special Opportunity to those interested in professional development as a future association leader
The APTA Centennial Scholars Program, part of APTA’s Centennial Celebration, is designed to build a cadre of future association leaders at both the chapter/section/academy and national levels. APTA designed a 12-month program (January – December 2021) that includes up to 100 scholars, each sponsored by an APTA component. The curriculum will cover association leadership and management topics and be delivered through three face-to-face meetings, regularly scheduled virtual learning experiences and a capstone project defined by the sponsoring organization. Scholars will also benefit from the guidance of Centennial Scholar mentors who will work directly with the scholars in small groups to support the completion of their capstone projects.
The APTA Academy of Education will sponsor one Centennial Scholar to be chosen by application process.
Benefits for Scholars
- Expand awareness of issues and challenges facing APTA, the Academy of Education, and the association community
- Increase leadership skills and recognize arenas in which scholar’s unique contributions may be invested
- Make an immediate positive impact through their capstone projects
- Network with fellow APTA and Academy of Education leaders on a personal and professional level
Scholar Expectations
- Scholars should demonstrate a commitment to be a future leader, staying active within the Academy of Education for at least 3-5 years.
- Scholars must commit to attend the three meeting events (to be held in-person or virtually as needed); if in-person, scholar travel and lodging is included in the program fees paid by the Academy of Education in collaboration with APTA.
- (1) January 16, 2021: First meeting of scholars and mentors during Founders Day Weekend (New York, NY); (2) April 2021 (exact date TBD): Second meeting of scholars and mentors at APTA’s new headquarters (Alexandria, VA); and (3) September 12, 2021: Third meeting of scholars and mentors during Centennial Gala Weekend (Washington, DC
- Participation in regularly scheduled virtual learning experiences
- Scholars will work directly with the Academy of Education on the identified capstone project (see below) that addresses an existing need of the Academy.
- The capstone must be completed by the end of the Centennial year
- An average commitment on the scholar’s part of no more than 2-3 hours per month over the course of the year
- An outcome or ‘deliverable’ that serves the component in some way while also contributing to the development of the scholar
Capstone Project
The Academy’s scholar will use existing archival material from the Academy, APTA and other relevant sources to create what will become a digital, accessible and searchable record of the Academy that will be publicly available (via the Academy website) to document our available history. Such a resource will not only allow us to celebrate our past, but also to ground the Academy’s future decision-making in an understanding of our past experiences.
The project should facilitate the scholar’s understanding of the path and challenges of association development as well as the experiences (and potential effectiveness) of a volunteer organization in serving its constituents and in meeting its evolving mission and goals over time. The project can also contribute to an understanding of the need for and development of information management in a volunteer organization.
Eligibility and Application
Application Deadline: Monday, August 17, 2020 at 8:00 am ET
Expected Selection Notification Date: Monday, August 31, 2020
Eligibility and Application Requirements:
- Be a current member of the Academy of Education at the time of application and throughout the 2021 Centennial year.
- Submit an application via the Academy’s Volunteer Portal
- A more detailed description, required application materials and submission instructions should be reviewed at APTA Academy of Education Centennial Scholar Application
