ADVANCE Adaptation: Advancing Equity in STEM Academic Careers through Organizational Change at an Urban Public Research University

University Of Missouri-Saint Louis, Saint Louis MO

Investigators

Abstract

The University of Missouri – St. Louis (UMSL) will implement an NSF ADVANCE Adaption project to develop and enhance institutional structures, policies, and processes that will lead to gender equity among STEM faculty and cultivate an organizational climate where women as well as African Americans, Hispanics, and other historically underrepresented groups in STEM will thrive. The UMSL ADVANCE project has three primary objectives: 1. Recruit, retain, and advance more women STEM and SBS faculty, particularly African American and Hispanic women, in tenured and tenure-track positions to better reflect the projected demographics of the UMSL student body and workforce needs; 2. Educate and empower UMSL faculty, staff, and administrators on evidence-based methods from other ADVANCE institutions to address gender- and racial/ethnic-related biases and challenges that affect the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women faculty, particularly African American and Hispanic women, and other historically underrepresented groups in academic STEM and SBS careers; and 3. Modify and restructure institutional policies and processes to support gender equity among STEM and SBS faculty, and cultivate an inclusive workplace climate where women faculty, particularly African American and Hispanic women, and other historically underrepresented groups in STEM and SBS academic professions will thrive. The project will result in knowledge about the scalability and replicability of previous ADVANCE initiatives while considering intersectional issues to learn which initiatives are more or less impactful for different faculty in STEM. The project will adapt practices from the University of Michigan, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and Case Western Reserve related to search practices, search data collection, and accountability procedures. In addition, the project will adapt Launch Committees from the University of California Davis and Florida International University to improve retention and advancement. UMSL plays an important role in educating the St. Louis region and improvements to faculty equity at UMSL is expected to have a positive impact on the local region which has a large percent of STEM workers. 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.