Last year, Kevin Antoine suspended his work as chief executive officer for a labor management consulting company to come to HSPH–not as a student or a faculty member but as a participant in a special Harvard University fellowship program for professionals. That program brought him to the Division of Public Health Practice, where he is currently working.

Harvard University’s Administrative Fellowship Program exposes professionals, particularly minorities, to administrative careers in higher education. Started in 1989, the program’s founders wanted to increase the number of minorities trained in academic administration and widen the pool of talent from which Harvard may recruit management staff. The program is administered through the university’s Office of the Assistant to the President.

Now, Harvard University’s Administrative Fellowship Program is seeking sponsors for the 2002-2003 year. HSPH departments, divisions and centers that want to sponsor a fellow in their areas are asked to submit proposals to the Office of the Assistant to the President by February 15.

"We are always looking for new sponsors, and HSPH has been one of the longest and steadiest supporters of the program," said James Hoyte, assistant to the president and associate vice president at Harvard University. Two of this year’s eight fellows are at HSPH.

"For sponsors, this is an opportunity to engage talented people who have been recruited through a rigorous process and to create a staff diverse in nature," said Hoyte.

Carolyn Everette, assistant dean of HSPH’s Human Resources, encourages principal investigators to consider sponsoring a fellow. She said the program draws professionals with scientific backgrounds who are interested in doing research as well as administration.

The program is divided between Visiting Fellows and Resident Fellows. Visiting Fellows are drawn from business, science and other professions outside of the university and work in different areas of the university depending on departmental needs and the fellows’ career interests.

Resident Fellows are professionals currently working at Harvard. They continue to work at their positions during the fellowship year but participate in activities offered by the program to aid professional growth.

All fellows take part in an education program that includes skill seminars, group workshops, lectures and case studies given by senior administrators and faculty members on leadership development. The seminar series also exposes participants to the day-to-day administration of Harvard.

For Antoine, the fellowship is a chance to test his interest in university administration. Since October, he has been putting his legal and labor management skills to use by overhauling the Division of Public Health Practice’s internal policy and procedures manual.

"It’s a first-class program that places your skills in a university setting. It’s like a prep school for senior administrative service," said Antoine.

Joann Wilson-Singleton, who has been the HSPH Registrar for more than a year, is a Resident Fellow in the program. She continues to conduct her nine-to-five job while making time for the program’s seminars and workshops.

"The program gives someone like me in middle management exposure to folks who I would otherwise not get a chance to meet, like the university’s General Counsel or certain faculty members," she said.

For details about becoming a sponsor or a fellow, contact Carolyn Everette at 617-432-2434 or ceverett@hsph.harvard.edu.

The Yerby Postdoctoral Fellowship Program at HSPH is looking for candidates. The program aims to increase the number of under-represented minorities entering academia. Faculty members are asked to contact colleagues from other institutions and/or health associations to ask for referrals or nominations of promising minority candidates.

"Clearly, we need to do everything possible to encourage bright minority graduate students to enter public health faculty positions, and this fellowship can be a positive step in that direction," said Walter Willett, chair of the program and of the Department of Nutrition. Working with Willett on the program is Deborah Prothrow-Stith, associate dean for faculty development.

The application deadline has been extended to March 1.

For more information or to send referrals, contact Betty Johnson, administrator of the program, at (617) 496-8064 or bljohnso@hsph.harvard.edu.

The fellowship is named after Alonzo Yerby, a faculty member from 1966 to 1982 and the first African-American dean and department chair at HSPH. He also served as a consultant to President Lyndon Johnson on drafting the Medicare/Medicaid act.