National Osterbrock Leadership Program Update

Did you miss our 24 June webinar with Robert Williams (Space Telescope Science Institute) and Sandra Faber (University of California, Santa Cruz) on the AAS's new National Osterbrock Leadership Program (NOLP)? Or did you join us online but still want more information? Then head to the NOLP Announcement of Opportunity page, where you'll now find links to the 1-hour webinar video, a PDF of Bob and Sandy's presentation slides, and a newly compiled list of mini-grant projects funded between 2016 and 2020 by UCSC's original Osterbrock Leadership Program (OLP), on which the new AAS program is based. Webinar participants asked for the list so they could see some real-world examples of creative leadership training.

Webinar Video      Webinar Slides      Mini-Grant Projects

Aside from UCSC's OLP, formal leadership training of graduate students is almost nonexistent in the United States. NOLP provides a significant funding opportunity for participating departments that offer graduate degrees in the astronomical sciences. The program is supported by funds from the Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation and is administered by the AAS. Through matching funds, the NOLP will facilitate the creation of programs similar to UCSC’s on a national level. Representing a new dimension for any department training students to work in the astronomical sciences, such programs should attract a broader, more diverse spectrum of capable students who wish to develop skills that will benefit their work in every aspect of science.

The 24 June webinar was designed for people interested in having their graduate program participate in the NOLP. Attendees included chairs of university departments of astronomy and astrophysics, departments of physics and astronomy, and departments of Earth and planetary science, as well as heads of graduate programs within their departments, graduate-student advisors, teaching and research faculty, postdocs, and graduate students. The NOLP is an exciting opportunity for graduate programs with a serious interest in leadership training.

The deadline for proposals for new NOLP nodes around the country is 1 October 2020. So check out the NOLP Announcement of Opportunity, and if you have any questions, please email us. We look forward to receiving your proposals!