Moving Beyond Boundaries to Promote Inclusive Faculty Success

Marquette University, Milwaukee WI

Investigators

Abstract

The Marquette University ADVANCE Adaptation project is designed to improve equity for STEM faculty at Marquette. Marquette is a Catholic and Jesuit, Carnegie R2 higher research activity university. Demographic data, climate study results, and input from focus groups have been used to identify two key equity and inclusion challenges that will be addressed with this project: 1) recruiting women and underrepresented faculty effectively, and 2) improving department level climate. Adaptations to evidence-based best practices to be implemented are planned to focus on the academic department as the primary unit of change for institutional transformation. The project is designed to gain insight into the ways intersecting identities affect faculty experience to implement appropriate strategies for improving department climate. The project will test the adaptations of strategies for recruiting and mid-career success that have been demonstrated at other ADVANCE sites that are best suited to institutions in times of rapid institutional change and growing ambitions like Marquette University. The project will include new research into use of climate study data to identify issues and facilitate change. The collaborative activities that cut across horizontal (department and college) as well as vertical (faculty in all ranks, department chairs, deans, and other campus leadership) boundaries will serve to build "communities of practice" committed to diversity, inclusion, collaboration, and the success of all members of the university community, including faculty and students. The ADVANCE adaptation project will complement the expected establishment of an Institute for Women's Leadership at Marquette which is anticipated to be the home for ADVANCE efforts after the project ends. The NSF ADVANCE program is designed to foster gender equity through a focus on the identification and elimination of organizational barriers that impede the full participation and advancement of diverse faculty in academic institutions. Organizational barriers that inhibit equity may exist in policies, processes, practices, and the organizational culture and climate. ADVANCE "Adaptation" awards provide support for the adaptation and adoption of evidence-based strategies to academic, non-profit institution of higher education as well as non-academic, non-profit organizations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.