STEM Equity Achievement (SEA Change)

美国科学促进会（AAAS）提议制定一项名为STEM公平成就（SEA）变革的国家倡议。SEA Change将是一个自愿的自我评估和认可系统，面向致力于机构转型的高校，以支持科学、技术、工程、数学和医学（STEM）领域的多样性、公平性和包容性。SEA Change是由美国国家科学基金会（NSF） ADVANCE计划和英国备受推崇的Athena SWAN计划提供信息和启发的。NSF ADVANCE促进了美国高等教育机构的组织变革，以解决系统性不平等问题。雅典娜SWAN项目通过授予STEM部门和在促进性别平等和多样性方面符合研究标准的机构铜奖、银奖和金奖，在英国机构之间创造了健康的竞争。SEA Change的目标是使这种激励模式适用于美国，并制定一项备受推崇的、可信的倡议，从而导致高等教育的结构性变化。SEA Change将寻求提供公平、公正的审查，并通过程序和标准的透明度帮助各机构获得奖励。美国科学促进会（AAAS）是世界上最大的综合科学组织，因其40多年来致力于STEM领域的多样性和包容性而受到广泛尊重，并有能力引领SEA Change这样的努力。这笔赠款资金将支持SEA Change所需的基础设施的开发，以实现其雄心勃勃的目标，并最终实现自我维持。SEA变革项目是一项大胆、创新和系统的方法，旨在促进高等教育的结构转型。作为一个积极的、自愿的认可系统，SEA Change将促进卓越，激励学院、大学及其STEM部门通过这些机构的组织结构转型变得更加多样化和受欢迎，为来自STEM中代表性不足和服务不足的群体的教师和学生提供更支持性的学习和工作环境。参与该计划的机构将致力于多元化、公平和包容的计划原则；进行深入的自我评估，以确定他们的基线状态；制定独特的、以任务为导向的目标和详细的行动计划；接收有关他们自我评估的反馈；跟踪和报告进度；并在五年的时间内寻求奖励更新或晋升。通过这一过程，SEA变革将推动制度文化、激励机制、领导力和学生群体的持续和系统性变革，所有这些都是由对公平和机会的关注驱动的。该奖项由美国国家科学基金会（NSF）的几个理事会、办公室和项目共同资助，包括：生物科学理事会、计算机和信息科学与工程理事会、教育和人力资源理事会、工程理事会、地球科学理事会、数学和物理科学理事会、社会、行为和经济科学理事会、NSF综合活动办公室、NSF ADVANCE、研究生教育和教授联盟（AGEP）、传统黑人学院和大学的本科项目（HBCU-UP），工程教育中心（EEC），扩大工程地球科学教育和多样性项目的参与，以及NSF INCLUDES，其重点是催化科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）企业协同工作，以实现包容性变革。此外，国家卫生研究院妇女健康研究办公室共同资助了这一项目，将生物医学科学纳入SEA变革工作。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) proposes the development of a national initiative called STEM Equity Achievement (SEA) Change. SEA Change will be a voluntary system of self-assessment and recognition for colleges and universities working on institutional transformation to support diversity, equity, and inclusion in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEM). SEA Change is informed and inspired by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) ADVANCE program and by the United Kingdom's highly regarded Athena SWAN program. NSF ADVANCE has promoted organizational change within U.S. institutions of higher education to address systemic inequities. The Athena SWAN program has created healthy competition among U.K. institutions by awarding Bronze, Silver, and Gold-level status to STEM departments and to institutions that meet research-informed criteria in promoting gender equity and diversity. The goal of SEA Change is to adapt this incentive model to the United States and develop a well-regarded, credible initiative that results in structural change in higher education. SEA Change will seek to provide fair, impartial reviews and assist institutions with attainment of awards through transparency in processes and standards. AAAS is the largest general science organization in the world and is widely respected for its more than 40 years of programmatic commitment to diversity and inclusion in STEM and is well positioned to shepherd an effort like SEA Change. This grant funding will support the development of the infrastructure needed for SEA Change to reach its ambitious goals and eventually to become self-sustaining.The SEA Change program is a bold, innovative, and systemic approach to promote structural transformation in higher education. As a positive, voluntary recognition system, SEA Change will promote excellence and incentivize colleges, universities, and their STEM departments to become more diverse and welcoming through transformations in organizational structures of these institutions, providing a more supportive learning and working environment for faculty and students from groups under-represented and underserved in STEM. Institutions that participate in the program will commit to diversity, equity, and inclusion program principles; perform in depth self-assessment to determine their baseline status; develop unique, mission-driven goals and detailed action-plans; receive feedback on their self-assessments; track and report on progress; and seek award renewal or progression on a five-year schedule. Through this process SEA Change will drive sustained and systemic changes in institutional culture, incentives, leadership, and student populations, all driven by a focus on equity and access.This award is co-funded by several National Science Foundation (NSF) directorates, offices and programs including: Directorate for Biological Sciences, Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Directorate for Engineering, Directorate for Geosciences, Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences, NSF Office of Integrative Activities, NSF ADVANCE, Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professorship (AGEP), Historically Black Colleges and Universities-Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), Engineering Education Centers (EEC), Broadening Participation in Engineering Geosciences Education and Diversity Programs, and NSF INCLUDES, which focuses on catalyzing the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) enterprise to collaboratively work for inclusive change. In addition, the National Institutes of Health's Office of Research on Women's Health has co-funded this project to include the biomedical sciences in the SEA Change effort.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.