ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award: An Initiative for Transforming Climate and Opportunities to Foster Academic Diversity

得克萨斯大学埃尔帕索分校（UTEP）提议实施一项机构变革倡议，目标是为其他希望增加妇女（包括代表性不足的少数民族）在学术科学和工程职业中的代表性和地位的机构树立榜样。 由于其才华横溢的教师和西班牙裔学生人口占多数，UTEP是创建，实施和记录相关过程的理想环境，以实现学术人才队伍的多样化，并为创造积极和可持续的学术气候变化的国家目标做出贡献。 为了增加女教师的总数，特别是那些来自代表性不足的群体，在终身制轨道和终身职位，UTEP将建立一个倡议，三个综合和相互支持的组成部分：1）政策和招聘过程，制定教师支持和保留政策，支持招聘工作，并提供研究支持; 2）一个教师发展过程，扩大现有的教师指导计划的妇女，介绍了一系列研讨会，以帮助教师制定职业成功的计划，并促进终身教职和终身教职之间的协同作用; 3）一个协作的领导过程，与各部门合作，通过评估部门气候和分享鼓励多样性和促进领导力的最佳做法，消除招聘、保留和晋升女教师的障碍。为了维持这些组成部分并不断完善程序，机构行动委员会将提出和确定改革政策，并就赠款倡议提供咨询意见。 多方面的评估流程将包括形成性和总结性自我评估以及外部咨询委员会的审查。 这种创新的结构编织在一起的过程中，关系，和教师和管理的所有职级之间的沟通多条线。五个共同PI带来了广泛的领导和联盟建设的经验，该倡议：伊芙琳·波西博士是负责学术事务的副校长，伊丽莎白·安东尼博士是学院参议院的前任主席，Tine Reimers博士是有效教学中心的联合主任，Ann Gates博士是计算机科学系副主任和总统多样性咨询委员会主席，帕特里夏·威瑟斯彭博士是传播系主任和萨姆·唐纳森传播研究中心主任。 通过实施、记录和持续评估该倡议，UTEP将有助于更好地了解如何创造合作气候，从而实现更大的多样性。 该倡议的智力价值是其综合结构的广度，涉及大学管理以及在个人，部门，学院和机构层面的变革代理人联盟。 在这一过程中，“基层”的决策者推动体制变革。该倡议旨在促进教师生活的整体观，解决教师职业生涯的不同阶段，从进入大学到晋升到领导职位，并为每个阶段发展教师。该倡议旨在产生广泛影响。这是一系列的过程，包括各级教师的参与，以及在机构的最高级别的个人参与。它是建立在大学的结构和相互关联的过程，可以很容易地适应整个UT系统和全国各地的大学的知识。

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) proposes to implement an Initiative for Institutional Change with the goal to serve as a model for other institutions that desire to increase the representation and advancement of women, including underrepresented minorities, in academic science and engineering careers. Because of its talented faculty and Hispanic-majority student population, UTEP is the ideal setting to create, implement, and document interrelated processes for diversifying the academic workforce and contributing to the national goal of creating positive and sustainable change in academic climates. To increase the total number of female faculty, in particular those from underrepresented groups, in tenure-track and tenured positions, UTEP will establish an Initiative with three integrated and mutually supportive components: 1) a policy and recruitment process that formulates faculty support and retention policies, supports recruitment efforts, and provides research support; 2) a faculty development process that expands an existing faculty mentoring program for women, introduces a seminar series to help faculty develop plans for career success, and fosters synergy between tenured and tenure-track faculty; 3) a collaborative leadership process that works with departments to remove barriers to recruitment, retention, and advancement of women faculty by assessing departmental climates and sharing best practices that encourage diversity and promote leadership. To sustain the components and provide for continuous refinement of processes, an Institutional Action Board will initiate and define change policies and offer advice on grant initiatives. A multi-faceted evaluation process will include both formative and summative self-assessments and review by an external Advisory Board. This innovative structure weaves together processes, relationships, and multiple lines of communication among all ranks of faculty and administration.The five co-PIs bring broad leadership and coalition-building experience to the Initiative: Dr. Evelyn Posey is Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Elizabeth Anthony is the past President of the Faculty Senate, Dr. Tine Reimers is Co-Director of the Center for Effective Teaching and Learning, Dr. Ann Gates is Associate Chair of the Computer Science Department and Chair of the President's Advisory Committee on Diversity, and Dr. Patricia Witherspoon is Chair of the Department of Communication and Director of the Sam Donaldson Center for Communication Studies. Through implementation, documentation, and on-going assessment of the Initiative, UTEP will contribute to a better understanding of how to create collaborative climates that result in greater diversity. The intellectual merit of the Initiative is the breadth of its integrative structure, involving university administration as well as coalitions of change agents at the individual, departmental, college, and institutional levels. In this process, decision makers at the "grass roots" drive institutional change. The Initiative is designed to promote a holistic view of faculty life, address the different stages of faculty careers from entrance into the academe to advancement to leadership positions, and to develop faculty for each of these stages. The Initiative is designed for broad impact. It is a series of processes that includes involvement of all ranks of faculty as well as participation by individuals at the highest level of the institution. It is built with knowledge of universities' structures and interrelated processes that can be easily adapted to universities throughout the UT System and those around the country.