ADVANCE Adaptation: Advancing Equity through Systemic Strategies to Improve Leadership, Departmental Collegiality, and Data Transparency at Texas Tech University

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Texas Tech University (TTU) is located in the agricultural and rural South Plains region of the state of Texas. TTU is a large, public, Hispanic-serving institution (HSI), with a Carnegie R1 highest research activity designation. TTU’s ADVANCE Adaptation project, “Advancing Equity through Systemic Strategies to Improve Leadership, Departmental Collegiality, and Data Transparency at Texas Tech University,” will address gender, race, and ethnicity systemic issues at the institution. Systemic inequities can hinder the success of faculty, and most specifically women and underrepresented minoritized faculty (URM). In addition, these inequities contribute to a toxic university climate that leads to faculty attrition and dissatisfaction. TTU will adapt evidence-based strategies from prior and existing ADVANCE recipients to address these challenges. In addition, TTU will leverage existing and develop new strategies including the establishment of a Faculty Success Center and a Faculty Resource Network to provide professional development and mentoring needs for faculty as well as to produce and disseminate research that supports best practices for ensuring equity. These identified strategies will enable TTU to reach its goals of systematically changing the institution to one that is equitable, evidenced through its policies and practices as well as increased faculty satisfaction and retention.TTU’s ADVANCE project activities are designed to eliminate organizational barriers that prevent equity in the work life of faculty, with specific focus on STEM faculty. Three institutional challenges, identified through self-study, are addressed: 1) dissatisfaction with department chair leadership; 2) dissatisfaction with department collegiality in STEM departments; and 3) lack of organizational infrastructure and professional development opportunities to support faculty success. The goals to address these challenges are: 1) leadership development of department chairs through intersectional approaches; 2) enhance data infrastructure and operating policies to support data-driven decision-making, accountability, and equity; and 3) establish organizational infrastructure and provide professional development for advancement and leadership. The strategies to address these organizational barriers, framed by organizational theory, are focused on institutional learning to ensure change occurs that eliminates the barriers that historically have affected faculty, with specific focus on the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual identity, employment status, and disability. Adapted evidence-based strategies from prior and existing ADVANCE institutions, existing TTU initiatives, and new strategies will be implemented across all STEM disciplines. If successful, the project outcome will be that TTU learns at the deepest level of organizational learning, with evidence of change occurring through its policies and practices. 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.