ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award

University Of Alabama At Birmingham, Birmingham AL

Investigators

Abstract

Despite several decades of steady progress in obtaining Ph.D.s in science and engineering (S&E), women remain underrepresented in academia, particularly at senior academic ranks. Since many members of underrepresented minority groups receiving Ph.D.s in all fields are women, the obstacles to racial and ethnic diversity of university faculty include obstacles to gender diversity. At UAB, few women can be found at any academic rank in many science and engineering departments. The specific aims of the project are to increase the visibility of the problems that women face in academic science and engineering careers, to increase the number of women recruited to science and engineering positions, and to develop a campus climate in which practice and policy recognize and support the needs of women so that women are retained on the faculty of the institution. The proposed project seeks to enhance both UAB's long-term commitment to faculty diversity and the institution's newer efforts in professional development of young investigators. The project will be institutionalized by changes in policy and by the evolution of the project into a center for the study of women and minorities in science and engineering. To bring focus to the needs of women, the project will establish an Office for the Advancement of Women in Science and Engineering with an internal advisory board of campus leaders and an external board of individuals recognized for their leadership in the advancement of women and minorities in academia. The direction of the project will be driven by qualitative and quantitative data collected and analyzed throughout the project to evaluate the needs of the campus and the effectiveness of activities undertaken. The project also seeks to stimulate basic research that will broaden understanding of the issues affecting women and minorities in science and engineering and lead to better informed policy decisions.