ADVANCE Partnership: Assessing Differential Faculty Contributions and Aligning Faculty Advancement with Mission Values

Seattle University, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

The three partner institutions, Gonzaga University, Saint Louis University, and Seattle University propose to revise faculty advancement processes to be more comprehensive and aligned with their shared Jesuit mission. The project will increase recognition by faculty and administrators of a broader, more inclusive range of faculty contributions, develop a toolkit for assigning merit to and evaluating these activities and provide intentional faculty development to align with the newly recognized range of faculty career pathways. This project builds on the Participatory Action Research (PAR) Model used by Seattle University in a prior ADVANCE Institutional Transformation award (NSF 1629875). That project resulted in revised guidelines for promotion that explicitly incorporated under-valued activities that are essential and beneficial to students, universities, and communities yet are not traditionally considered during STEM faculty tenure and promotion processes. This project initiates similar structural changes within the two partnering institutions while also developing a toolkit to evaluate these under-valued activities done by faculty. A long-term goal of the project is to encourage this type of cultural change across the twenty-eight institutional members of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU). Project activities will result in a toolkit for assigning merit to and evaluating traditionally under-valued faculty activities, which can be adapted by other types of institutions, including minority-serving institutions and other similar comprehensive institutions. There is a widespread need in higher education for STEM faculty evaluation measures that align with the full range of activities institutions need to complete to meet their educational, research, and community missions. Aligned evaluation measures are essential since many of these activities are often done by faculty identifying as women, members of a racial or ethnic group that is underrepresented in STEM, or both. 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 "Partnership" awards provide support for the adaptation and adoption of evidence-based strategies to academic, non-profit institutions of higher education and 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.