More than the Sum of Its Parts:Advancing Women at NJIT through Collaborative Research Networks

New Jersey Institute Of Technology, Newark NJ

Investigators

Abstract

The NJIT ADVANCE IT project began in 2006 and has had a focus on examining the professional and research networks of women faculty in the STEM disciplines with the intent of using that knowledge to create distinct advantages for this target population. Among accomplishments reported in the first years of this project are: an interactive database of all NJIT faculty publications and use of statistical modeling and visual mapping to analyze gender patterns in network centrality. For the current project proposed, the NJIT ADVANCE IT program will develop career advancement tools as novel approaches to faculty mentoring. Intellectual Merit. In the current renewal proposal, this project proposes to implement two mentoring tools including a research partner finding tool and a faculty research network mapping tool. These tools are based on prior successes and represent intriguing and innovative approaches to establishing formal mentoring networks at institutions of higher education. Broader Impact. The New Jersey Institute of Technology ADVANCE IT project, because of its focus on network mapping, has the capacity to impact all women faculty in higher education. Reports of project findings are expected to be broadly disseminated using traditional means such as peer reviewed journal articles and national presentations. Additionally, the project PI has also initiated collaborations with other ADVANCE institutions who endeavor to use this tool as a mechanism for determining potential for advancement of women faculty at other institution types.