Meisha Shofner, professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), has been selected for the 2024-2025 class of Drexel University’s Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science (ELATES) program.

The ELATES program is a national leadership development program designed to promote women in academic STEM fields and faculty allies of all genders into institutional leadership roles.

“I am excited to be selected as an ELATES Fellow. I am grateful for the support from Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering that made this opportunity possible and especially support from Dean Raheem Beyah, Associate Dean Kim Kurtis, and MSE School Chair Natalie Stingelin. I am looking forward to learning from this amazing community of women leaders in higher education,” Shofner said.

“I was drawn to the ELATES program because of its focus on developing the skills needed to lead university initiatives with an operational focus, and I will be putting that knowledge into practice as I develop an institutional action project as part of the program.”

The new class of ELATES Fellows is a prestigious cohort of 46 faculty members from over 35 institutions of higher education across the U.S. and Canada. The fellows include experts in engineering, mathematics, and science, all of whom have significant administrative experience on top of their scholarly accomplishments.

Shofner was nominated by senior leadership for this intensive, year-long program, which includes eight to 10 hours per week of personal and leadership development work as well as a series of three on-site workshops in the Philadelphia area.

Shofner is an expert in polymer engineering topics such as filled polymers and nanocomposites, biopolymers, additive manufacturing, and mechanical metamaterials. 

She currently is associate editor of the journal Additive Manufacturing and serves on the leadership team for SHAP3D, a National Science Foundation-funded Industry-University Cooperative Research Center in additive manufacturing. She has previously served as the interim executive director of the Renewable Bioproducts Institute at Georgia Tech.

Facilitated by leaders in STEM research and leadership development, the ELATES curriculum is focused on increasing fellows’ personal and professional leadership effectiveness, from the ability to lead and manage change initiatives within institutions, to the use of strategic finance and resource management to enhance organizational missions.

Pairing online instruction and discussion with intensive, in-person seminar sessions, the program encourages fellows to apply what they have learned at their home institutions. Ultimately, it aims to create a network of exceptional faculty who bring broad organizational perspectives and deep personal capacity to the institutions and society they serve.

“We are excited to welcome one of our biggest classes of fellows into the ELATES community,” said Sharon Walker, executive director of the ELATES program and dean of Drexel University’s College of Engineering. “Each fellow participating in the 11th cohort of ELATES brings a wealth of expertise, knowledge and experience as well as a unique perspective that will enhance and enrich the overall experience of the program and further our mission of advancing and supporting women as leaders in STEM.”