In 1998, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital received a generous grant from the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Trust, which was used to develop a Scholars Program to promote academic advancement of women faculty. This program has been very successful. To date, eleven women have been selected as Schmidlapp Scholars. This program has successfully promoted career advancement not only of the awardees, but also of the applicants. The program has included individual mentorship to all applicants and feedback to their division directors and the chairman of the department. The program has helped create an attractive environment for recruitment of women faculty at all ranks, with the number of women faculty increasing from 58 (30%) in 1996 to 180 (41%) in 2006.
In April 2005, Cincinnati Children’s received a $1.5 million grant from the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Foundation of Fifth Third Bank for a new program to support the career development of women in academic pediatrics. The goals of the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Center for Career Development of Women in Academic Pediatrics are to enhance career development of women coming from a broad range of backgrounds and ultimately to become a national model for career development of women in academic medicine.
The specific objectives of this center are to:
- Continue operation and management of the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Scholars Program and transform it into a permanent source of support for women scholars
- Reach a wide population of women ranging from high school students to senior faculty, including medical and graduate students, residents and fellows, and all faculty levels
- Support a Summer Internship Program for female high school and undergraduate students
- Enhance faculty development opportunities, including seminars and retreats, and provide support for women faculty to attend national leadership meetings
- Expand mentorship and career guidance programs
- Support the activities of the Women’s Faculty Association
- Disseminate learnings from the Center with other academic centers
