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

德克萨斯大学埃尔帕索分校（UTEP）提议实施一项制度变革倡议，其目标是为其他希望在学术科学和工程职业中增加女性（包括代表性不足的少数民族）的代表性和进步的机构提供榜样。由于其才华横溢的教师和西班牙裔占多数的学生群体，UTEP是创建，实施和记录相关流程的理想环境，以实现学术劳动力的多样化，并为在学术环境中创造积极和可持续变化的国家目标做出贡献。为了增加女性教师的总数，特别是那些来自代表性不足群体的女性教师，在终身教职和终身教职岗位上，UTEP将建立一个由三个相互支持的组成部分组成的倡议：1)制定政策和招聘流程，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)教师发展过程，扩大现有的女性教师指导计划，引入一系列研讨会，帮助教师制定职业成功计划，并促进终身教职员工和终身教职员工之间的协同作用；3)与各院系合作，通过评估院系氛围和分享鼓励多样性和促进领导力的最佳实践，消除招聘、保留和提升女教员的障碍。为了维持各组成部分并不断改进程序，机构行动委员会将发起和确定改革政策，并就赠款倡议提供咨询意见。多方面的评价过程将包括形成性和总结性自我评价以及外部咨询委员会的审查。这种创新的结构将各个级别的教师和管理人员之间的流程、关系和多种沟通方式编织在一起。五个共同行动纲领为该倡议提供了广泛的领导和建立联盟的经验：Evelyn Posey博士是负责学术事务的副校长，Elizabeth Anthony博士是教务委员会前任主席，Tine Reimers博士是有效教学和学习中心的联合主任，Ann Gates博士是计算机科学系的副主席和校长多样性咨询委员会主席，Patricia Witherspoon博士是传播系的主席和Sam Donaldson传播研究中心的主任。通过该计划的实施、文件编制和持续评估，UTEP将有助于更好地理解如何创建协作环境，从而实现更大的多样性。该计划的智力价值在于其综合结构的广度，包括大学管理以及个人、部门、学院和机构层面的变革推动者联盟。在这个过程中，“草根”决策者推动制度变革。该计划旨在促进对教师生活的整体看法，解决教师职业生涯从进入学术界到晋升到领导职位的不同阶段，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，以及机构最高层个人的参与。它建立在对大学结构和相关流程的了解之上，可以很容易地适应整个UT系统和全国各地的大学。

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.