For much of the last school year, Dr. Tracie Collins had her homework cut out for her.

Collins, professor and chair of KU School of Medicine-Wichita's Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, was one of about 50 women from across the country taking part in the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program through Drexel University in Philadelphia.  

Starting last summer and running nearly a year, Collins had a healthy dose of reading, homework, regular check-ins with classmates, and research as part of the two-decade-old program. Its goal is to give senior female faculty members training in leadership and other skills that they can employ to bring about change within their institutions. The program has more than 900 graduates, who come from not only schools of medicine but also from dental schools and schools of public health.  

In three weeklong retreats, Collins and classmates learned from faculty and facilitators with expertise in executive coaching, professional development, finance, administration, and others with broad areas of expertise, "going at it 12 hours a day," she said. "It's a leadership boot camp with very knowledgeable folks helping you along."  

Project work is a key program element, and Collins focused on studying health disparities in Kansas, between rural and urban residents. She researched and conducted interviews about the best practices of centers studying and coordinating work on such disparities, with the goal of forming a center in Kansas.  

"It was a great process and the next step is to host a symposium and identify the key stakeholders," she said.  

Participants in the leadership program - named after a New York philanthropist - were nominated by leaders at their schools. Each participant must have a mentor from their school, and hers was Executive Dean Robert Simari at KU School of Medicine in Kansas City.  

"You definitely need the support of your academic institution," said Collins, the eighth KU School of Medicine faculty member to go through the program since 1999.  "I really feel that it speaks volumes for KU as an institution for encouraging women to seek this kind of training."  

The program culminated with a graduation ceremony to recognize her year of effort. "It's really an exciting time, where we say, 'We did the work, we made it,'" Collins said.          

She sought out the program because she would "like to grow as a leader and do more at KU" and help her answer the question of "what's next for me as a department chair."  

"There are a lot of immensely talented women at KU and throughout the country, and there's a lot that can be accomplished," Collins said. "I feel I can make a difference at KU and nationally."  

"I hope that it will help me be a powerful role model for other women and increase the number of leaders who make things happen," she said.