Synopsis
The Partnership for Undergraduate Life Science Education (PULSE) was launched by Program Directors from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH/NIGMS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to catalyze implementation of recommendations made in the 2011 report, Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action.
In August, 2012, forty Vision and Change Leadership Fellows were selected after an application and peer review process managed by the American Institute for Biological Sciences. During two workshops held at the HHMI Headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland and facilitated by KnowInnovation, the Fellows were challenged to develop a framework for implementing these recommendations based on their collective experience as current or former Department Chairs or Deans. Approximately equal numbers of Fellows were selected from community colleges, liberal arts colleges, comprehensive universities and research-intensive universities from around the country.
After a year-long fellowship that ended in August 2013, the Fellows continue to work together. Several working groups and regional networks continue to meet regularly to expand the impact of PULSE activities. A complete list of members, regional networks, working groups, programs for departmental self-assessment, an Online Toolkit, lists of upcoming meetings, and other resources can be found at the www.pulsecommunity.org website.
The activities of the working groups for Raising the PULSE, Taking the PULSE, Spreading the PULSE, Maintaining the PULSE, and Evaluating the PULSE as well as several regional networks are supported by awards from the National Science Foundation. Many of these awards extend the PULSE activities into 2015 and beyond.
Organization Contacts:
National Science Foundation
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
National Institutes of Health - NIGMS