NSF ADVANCE Catalyst: Evaluation and Assessment of Gender Leadership Equity and Support

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Benedictine University (BenU) will implement a NSF-ADVANCE Catalyst project Evaluation and Assessment of Gender, Leadership, Equity, and Support (EAGLES) to investigate barriers that exist along the STEM faculty career pathway hindering successful hiring, advancement, and leadership of women, persons with disabilities, persons who identify as LGBTQ+, and peers excluded because of their ethnicity or race (PEERs). BenU recognizes that hiring and retaining diverse faculty is important in education and mentorship of the growing diverse student population and their success in STEM; however, a low number of diverse STEM faculty, especially at small, primarily undergraduate institutions, carry additional “unwritten” service resulting in an imbalance skewed towards service rather than scholarship. EAGLES aims to evaluate the processes before, during, and after BenU STEM faculty are hired through collection of faculty perceptions regarding current hiring, promotion process, and career flexibility policies to identify significant factors that can deter successful hiring and advancement. In collaboration with ADVANCE networks and leadership, this project aims to develop strategies and guidelines on career flexibility, hiring, and retention that can better account for the equitable distribution of service expected of the low percentage of diverse faculty at small, primarily undergraduate institutions.The goal of this ADVANCE Catalyst project is to address these inequities within BenU STEM by undertaking an extensive institutional assessment that will guide a data-driven strategic plan to 1) increase inclusive hiring policies and practices, 2) increase and improve faculty career flexibility, and 3) promote leadership advancement for marginalized groups in STEM (female, persons with disabilities, persons who identify as LGBTQ+, and PEERs). The institutional assessment will include data collection and analysis via external consulting reviews and internal reviews (e.g. faculty climate and perception surveys). The assessment will be supported through the guidance of an Advisory Board of internal and external academic and administrative leaders. The project’s findings will be broadly disseminated across BenU and through open source platforms that peer institutions can use. The broader impacts of the project will enable an expansion of essential training in DEI and collaborative efforts to address inequities at BenU. The project’s outcomes aim to provide systemic changes that dovetail with current university efforts and promote the inclusion of talented and experienced females, PEERs, persons with disabilities, and persons who identify as LGBTQ+ among STEM faculty. Implementation of the findings aims to align the diversity of the BenU faculty with its diverse student population. 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 education.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.