Leadership for Undergraduate STEM Reform: Weaving a Communal Web

Successful reform of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education requires good leaders; therefore, leadership development will be key if the national calls for reform (e.g., Vision and Change) are to be answered. The Partnership for Life Sciences Education (PULSE) is focused on whole‐department reform, which will require recruiting and supporting grassroots reformers who lead their colleagues through the change process. Department leaders will require (a) support networks that extend within and beyond each institution, (b) development of leadership skills and competencies, and (c) a mutually agreed‐upon strategic plan that inspires all to action. The STEM Department Evaluation Rubric is presented here as a tool to help establish that shared vision. Successful leaders will also need resilience, good humor and moral imagination, because the challenges are many but the rewards are substantial and sit at the core of the mission of our institutions.