ASCEND: Advancing STEM Careers by Empowering Network Development

威拉米特大学ADVANCE合作项目名为ASCEND：通过授权网络发展推进STEM职业生涯，旨在推动机构转型，创造鼓励和支持多样性的环境。三个区域机构间同行指导网络的大学管理人员和职业中期STEM教师将在一组不同的主要是本科院校（公立，私立，农村，城市，HBCU和军事机构）在美国中西部，东南部和西部形成。每个区域网络将由一个管理员联盟和五个特定学科的学院联盟（每个联盟四到五名参与者）组成。教师参与者将确定具体到他们的专业发展的障碍，并将制定和追求一个战略计划，以解决这些障碍，并促进他们的职业生涯。大学管理人员将评估其集体机构的现有政策和做法，同时考虑到交叉影响因素。在与教师合作，管理人员将战略性地设计和实施全面的校园特定的变革计划，减少在STEM领域的教师之间的公平障碍，创造更公平的社区，并促进多样化的STEM教师人口的保留和发展。该项目采用跨机构的指导作为一种手段，通过不同的教师和管理人员的区域联盟实现系统性变革。该项目将确定这种区域同侪指导模式在主要本科院校实现STEM教师公平方面的有效性，并将评估其对专业发展，生产力，工作满意度，个人代理，协作活动，整体福祉和职业发展的影响。此外，它还将确定与学院联盟密切合作的行政人员联盟是否是制定促进两性平等的机构政策和基础设施的有效战略。将与外部评价小组合作，利用参与者调查、访谈和焦点小组对成果进行评估。此外，还将进行在线和区域会议观察以及对个人和机构指标的分析。在数据收集、分析和报告中将考虑交叉性问题。NSF ADVANCE计划旨在通过重点确定和消除阻碍学术机构中不同教师充分参与和发展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、做法以及组织文化和氛围中。 ADVANCE“合作伙伴”奖旨在支持STEM专业协会与学术和非学术非营利组织之间的合作，旨在扩大基于证据的公平战略的实施，并具有国家或地区影响力。该奖项反映了NSF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。

Willamette University ADVANCE Partnership project called ASCEND: Advancing STEM Careers by Empowering Network Development aims to drive institutional transformation to create environments where diversity is encouraged and supported. Three regional inter-institutional peer mentoring networks for university administrators and mid-career STEM faculty will be formed among a diverse set of primarily undergraduate institutions (public, private, rural, urban, HBCU and military institutions) in the midwestern, southeastern, and western United States. Each Regional Network will be composed of an Administrator Alliance and five discipline-specific Faculty Alliances (four to five participants per Alliance). Faculty participants will identify barriers specific to their professional advancement and will develop and pursue a strategic plan to address these obstacles and advance their careers. University administrators will evaluate existing policies and practices at their collective institutions, taking into consideration intersectional impact factors. In collaboration with faculty, administrators will strategically design and implement comprehensive campus-specific change plans that reduce barriers to equity among faculty in STEM fields, create more equitable communities, and foster the retention and advancement of a diverse STEM faculty population.This project employs inter-institutional mentoring as a means of effecting systemic change through regional Alliances of diverse faculty and administrators. The project will determine the effectiveness of this regional peer mentoring model in achieving equity in STEM faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions, and will assess its impact on their professional development, productivity, job satisfaction, personal agency, collaborative activities, overall well-being, and career advancement. Furthermore, it will ascertain if Administrator Alliances, working in close association with Faculty Alliances, are an effective strategy for creating institutional policies and infrastructure that promote gender equity. In collaboration with an external evaluation team, outcomes will be assessed using participant surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Additionally, online and regional meeting observations will be conducted as well as analysis of individual and institutional metrics. Issues of intersectionality will be considered in data collection, analysis, and reporting.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 "Partnership" awards provide support to collaborations among STEM professional societies and academic and non-academic non-profit organizations designed to broaden the implementation of evidence-based equity strategies and have a national or regional reach.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.