ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award: Project UPWARD

University Of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore MD

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 at all levels of faculty and academic leadership, particularly at the senior academic ranks, through the transformation of institutional practices, policies, climate, and culture. The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) proposes to implement a five-year program to remove barriers, transform the culture of the university, and expand opportunities for women. This transformation will increase the representation and advancement of women, and in particular underrepresented women, in academic STEM careers, thereby contributing to the development of a more diverse science and engineering workforce. Through changes in policies and practices that affect the recruitment, selection, promotion, and transition of STEM women faculty to leadership positions, UMBC seeks to ensure women will be represented in numbers equal to or higher than parity with the pools from which they are selected. Within five years, all policies, procedures, partnerships, and processes will be in place and in motion to ensure this goal is achieved within ten years. Objective 1: With a focus on all STEM departments, UMBC will work collaboratively to develop and institutionalize new policies, practices, and resources that will effectively encourage the recruitment, selection, and hiring of women, and particularly minority women, to the faculty at all ranks. UMBC will identify and develop networking opportunities from which to recruit women graduate and post-doctoral students to the campus, create a new program called Faculty Horizons, modeled on UMBC's successful Graduate Horizons to recruit female faculty to the campus, and define challenging yet attainable goals for each department to recruit, select, and hire a diverse group of women faculty. Objective 2: Establish a system of targeted programs to create a clear and understandable pathway in support of women's efforts in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to achieve tenure and promotion, and transition to leadership positions at the university. Planned programs include a formalized mentoring program, structured leadership experiences, a new faculty track for lecturers who have demonstrated excellence in applied education projects, and time for faculty to balance family and medical needs with preparation for promotion, tenure, and advancement without penalty to their careers. Objective 3: Develop programs for constituency building, such that all levels of administration and each department support all aspects of the project and create new partnerships to connect UMBC to the broader community of research universities leading in the development and advancement of STEM women faculty. Over five years, UMBC will create and institutionalize the complex system of support needed for sustainability, from the grass roots through the top administration. UMBC will identify or hire an individual who will report directly to the president, work collaboratively with STEM faculty, and provide the leadership needed to set the course and maintain it. She/he will work to develop and implement an effective model for gender awareness training that addresses the unique culture of STEM in the academy and develop partnerships with other research institutions across the country to both gather and disseminate effective and sustainable practices. An extensive evaluation process has been formulated to guide the transformation process through outcome assessment, feedback, and continual program improvement. UMBC will chart new territory in supporting women's career options and advancement and believes that these new opportunities will benefit both men and women in STEM, across the campus, and across the country. The ADVANCE team is supported by all levels of faculty, staff, and administration under the leadership of the PI, the president of the university. The full commitment of the university assures that adequate resources are available to achieve the goal and objectives. UMBC is committed to creating a diverse environment for all members of its community. At a minimum, women faculty will be represented in proportion to the available pool of candidates from which it draws. By increasing STEM faculty women's numbers and involvement, the university will better support its female students who in turn will play an important role in addressing the nation's critical workforce shortages.