Dr. Cassandra Birrenkott, an
associate professor of mechanical engineering at Mines, has been accepted into
the most recent cohort of the prestigious ELATES program at Drexel University.
Cassandra Birrenkott,
Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical
Engineering at South Dakota Mines, has been
accepted into the 2023-2024 cohort of the prestigious Executive
Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science (ELATES) program at
Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pa.
Drexel describes ELATES as “a national leadership
development program designed to promote senior women faculty, and faculty
allies of all genders, in leadership for academic engineering, computer science
and other STEM fields into effective institutional leadership roles within
their schools and universities with a demonstrated commitment to increasing the
representation of women in STEM."
Birrenkott says she is excited for the opportunity
to take part in the program and bring what she learns back to Mines.
“Our vision on campus is to develop world class
leaders. I once had a mentor tell me, ‘You can’t be what you can’t see,’ and I
love that quote because it highlights that if we are expecting our students to
be leaders, we need role models of good leadership in every part of our
campus,” says Birrenkott. “Being accepted to ELATES was certainly not an
individual effort on my part; it included support from multiple leaders on
campus. I feel very fortunate that the administration at Mines was willing to
encourage me to apply for ELATES.”
Birrenkott also received a scholarship from the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering
Network (KEEN) that covers her tuition in the program. Birrenkott
says support from the KEEN network has been critical in helping Mines meet
industry demand for well-rounded students who thrive on multidisciplinary
teams.
“The combination of the developmental leadership that
ELATES will provide and the curiosity, connections, and creation of value that
KEEN emphasizes is really important on our campus,” says Birrenkott. “We can teach our students exceptional
academics, but industry also requires students to excel at soft skills like teamwork,
collaboration, consensus building and emotional intelligence. Leadership starts
at the top, and having the opportunity to learn these skills as a faculty
member will help to propel our students to leadership positions as well.”
“We’re so fortunate to have world-class leaders across
our campus like Dr. Birrenkott,” says Mines President Jim Rankin. “I’m highly confident
in the success of our university in the decades to come because we have faculty
like Dr. Birrenkott taking on initiatives like ELATES.”