ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of this project is to contribute to the development of a national science and engineering academic workforce that includes the full participation of women in all levels of faculty and academic administration, particularly at the senior academic ranks, through the transformation of institutional practices, policies, climate and culture. The University of Washington (UW) recognizes the important contributions that women make in science, engineering, and mathematics (SEM), and the factors that still inhibit women's full participation. The University proposes to create the Center for Institutional Change (CIC) to design and implement programs to help eliminate obstacles to women's full participation and advancement in the SEM disciplines. Many of these challenges occur in departments, so changing departmental culture will be a part of the CIC mission. The CIC will focus on these issues in SEM on campus: Leadership development for chairs and deans Department cultural change Policy change Leadership development Short-term support program for faculty in times of transition The work of the CIC will seve all groups (men, women, underrepresented) and improve the environment for everyone in SEM. UW will share its experiences with other institutions, professional societies, and industrial partners that are addressing the issues of low representation of women faculty in engineering and science. A network will be established to facilitate dissemination, and UW will work with Boeing, Weyerhaeuser, CH2M Hill, and REI to share best practices. This project is supported by the NSF ADVANCE Program. The overall mission of the ADVANCE Program is to increase the participation of women in the scientific and engineering workforce through the increased representation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers.