NSF ADVANCE Catalyst: A Data Driven Critical Needs Assessment of STEM Faculty Recruitment, Retention, and Promotion for George Mason University

乔治梅森大学(梅森大学)教职人员的多样性，包括科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)教职人员的多样性，在妇女和代表不足的种族/少数民族(URM)群体的人的代表性方面都远远落后于学生群体。Mason Advance Catalyst团队将对STEM终身教职跟踪和全职(临时)教职员工进行大量、系统的定量和定性数据收集和评估，并关注交叉分析，以确定需要做出哪些改变努力。重点将放在招聘和聘用以及续签/续聘、晋升和任期(RPT)方面。这一系统分析将为有意义的、持续的制度变革提供信息。此外，它将为同行机构争取与这些教师培养的本科生群体一样的人口多样性奠定重要的、可推广的结果基础。该项目的具体目标是(1)探索STEM教员类型和职级在招聘、保留、晋升和终身教职方面是否存在种族/民族和性别差异；(2)了解这些差异可能存在的原因，包括可能有助于这些结果的任何政策、做法和文化规范；以及(3)从先前的前期工作中确定成功的战略，以创建STEM公平战略计划，以改善梅森学院多样化教师的招聘和留住。为了实现这些目标，该团队将分析工程与计算学院和科学学院的数据集，这些数据集捕获了与机构文化、招聘和招聘、留住和股权相关的主题。该团队将利用交叉性镜头更好地理解为什么某些人口统计在梅森教职员工中的代表性过高或不足的特殊性。通过这个项目，梅森将能够确定并制定计划，以减轻阻碍不同教职员工充分参与和发展的组织障碍。它将为公平评估和制定STEM股权战略计划奠定基础，该计划将为教师的成功培育更具包容性的文化和环境。因此，根据NCSES的定义，该项目将有助于就STEM中代表性不足的教师的成功进行更广泛的对话。催化剂小组将制作：(I)一份综合报告，(Ii)一份沟通计划，就任何已发现的种族/性别差距对我们的校园社区进行教育，以及(Iii)与相关专家举行一次虚拟会议，以分享调查结果和有效做法的知识，以规划针对项目调查结果的具体干预措施。NSF高级方案旨在通过重点确定和消除阻碍学术机构中不同教员充分参与和进步的组织障碍来促进性别平等。阻碍公平的组织障碍可能存在于政策、流程、实践以及组织文化和氛围中。先期“催化剂”奖为学术、非营利性高等教育机构的机构公平评估和五年教师公平战略计划的制定提供支持。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The diversity of George Mason University (Mason) faculty, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty, lags well behind that of the student body, both in terms of the representation of women and of people from underrepresented racial/ethnic minority (URM) groups. The Mason ADVANCE Catalyst team will undertake a significant, systematic collection and evaluation of quantitative and qualitative data for STEM tenure-track and full-time term (contingent) faculty with attention to intersectional analyses to pinpoint where change efforts are needed. The focus will be on recruitment and hiring, and renewal/reappointment, promotion, and tenure (RPT). This systematic analysis will inform meaningful, sustained institutional change. Moreover, it will lay the foundation for significant, generalizable results for peer institutions striving for demographic diversity amongst their faculty on par with that of the undergraduate student body those faculty educate. Specific goals of this project are to (1) explore whether there are racial/ethnic and gender disparities across STEM faculty types and ranks with respect to recruitment, retention, promotion, and tenure; (2) learn about the reasons why these disparities may exist, including any policies, practices, and cultural norms that may contribute to these outcomes; and (3) identify successful strategies from prior ADVANCE work to create a STEM Equity Strategic Plan to improve recruitment and retention of diverse faculty at Mason. To accomplish these goals, the team will analyze College of Engineering and Computing and College of Science data sets that capture themes related to institutional culture; recruitment and hiring; retention; and equity. The team will utilize an intersectionality lens to better understand the particularities of why certain demographics are over- or underrepresented among Mason faculty. Through this project, Mason will be able to identify and make plans to mitigate organizational barriers that impede the full participation and advancement of diverse faculty. It will lay the foundation for an equity assessment and the development of a STEM Equity Strategic Plan that will foster a more inclusive culture and climate for faculty success. Thus, the project will contribute to broader conversations about success for faculty underrepresented in STEM, as defined by NCSES. The Catalyst Team will produce: (i) a comprehensive report, (ii) a communication plan to educate our campus community on any identified racial/gender disparities, and (iii) a virtual conference with relevant experts to share findings and knowledge of effective practices for planning of specific interventions to address project findings. 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 "Catalyst" awards provide support for institutional equity assessments and the development of five-year faculty equity strategic plans at academic, non-profit institutions of higher educationThis 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.