NSF-ADVANCE IT at NMSU

History and SuccessesTracy M. Sterling*, Lisa M. Frehill,

Pam Hunt and Shawn Werner

NSF-ADVANCE & NM-PAID

New Mexico State University

*Now at MSU, Dept. Land Resources & Environmental Sciences

• NSF-ADVANCE: Institutional Transformation

– New gender equity effort for NSF – 2001

– Issues prompting NSF-ADVANCE• Women not being hired into academia

• Early career awards were not working

• S&E labor force was not keeping pace with demand

– Goals: • Increase women’s representation among STEM

faculty and administration

• Transform academia

– 37 institutions funded, four rounds

Sex and Race Distribution for PhD Recipients Compared to NMSU Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty

Science and Engineering Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty at NMSU by Sex and Race, 2001

67.6%

12.7%

9.2%

2.6%

5.7%1.7% 0.4%

Science and Engineering DoctoratesAwarded by Sex and Race, 2001

45.8%

32.3%

5.8%

2.0%

4.2%

2.0%

2.1%

2.3% 0.3%0.2%

White Male

White Female

Asian Male

Asian Female

Hispanic Male

Hispanic Female

Black Male

Black Female

American Indian Male

American Indian Female

Major reasons for under-representation of women in STEM disciplines

• Pipeline• Chilly climate• Family/work balance• Unconscious bias

Source: Handelsman et al. 2005. Science 309:1190; Handelsman, J. 2008. DNA and Cell Biology 27:43-465Valian, 1999, ‘Why so slow? Advancement of Women’.

Arranged by: Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology; www.cpst.org

Percent Female Among Doctorate Recipients, 2005

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Life Sciences

Mathematics

Computer Science

Engineering

Physical Sciences

Psychology

Social Sciences

EducationHealth

Humanities

Professional, etc.

Source: NSF Science and Engineering Doctorate Awards: 2005 . "Professional, etc." includes professional, unknown, and other.

Parity Line: 49%

Percent Female Among Doctorate Recipients, 2005

Arranged by: Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology; www.cpst.org

Percent URM Among Doctorate Recipients, U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents, 2005

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Life Sciences

Mathematics

Computer Science

Engineering

Physical S

ciences

Psychology

Social S

ciences

EducationHealth

Humanities

Professional, e

tc.

Source: NSF Science and Engineering Doctorate Awards: 2005 . "Professional, etc." includes professional, unknown, and other. URM includes African American, Hispanic, and American Indian.

Parity Line: 31%

Percent URM Among Doctorate Recipients U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents, 2005

Major reasons for under-representation of women in STEM disciplines

• Pipeline• Chilly climate

• Lack of mentoring– Being the ‘one’ can be isolating– Reliance on informal mentoring

• Competition vs. Collegiality• Family/work balance• Unconscious bias

Major reasons for under-representation of women in STEM disciplines

• Pipeline• Chilly climate• Family/work balance

– Timing– Multiple Postdoc positions– Partner more likely to have PhD

• Unconscious bias

NMSU-ADVANCE: Approach

• Recruitment Initiatives

• Retention & Advancement Initiatives

• Policy Change Initiatives

• Data analysis & Dissemination

Data Source: NMSU Institutional Research, Planning, and Outcomes Assessment

Nu

mbe

r

RecruitmentSTEM new hires at NMSU

Pre- and Post-ADVANCE

STEM new hires at NMSU (% Females)

Data Source: NMSU Institutional Research, Planning, and Outcomes Assessment

Women as a Percentage of Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty at NMSU 1995-2009

Retention and Advancement Initiatives

• Specific to female tenure-track in STEM

– Start-up Augmentation

• Depts/Colleges responsible for most of package

• Encouraged broader applicant pool

– Research and Travel Awards

• 36 women received $500,000

– Distinguished Visiting Professors Program

• Engagement across University– Department Head Training

– ADVANCING Leaders: Leadership Development Program

• Two nominees from each of 6 Colleges and the Library

– Mentoring Program • Program has grown from 31 participants in 2002 to 133

participants in 2010

• Equal participation by men and women

– Faculty Development

• Promotion & Tenure Workshops

• Development Training

Retention and Advancement Initiatives

Mentoring as a Key Transformative Strategy at NMSU

• Mentoring encourages development of social ties– Addresses a variety of career needs– Improves Teaching, Research, Job Satisfaction– Formal vs. Informal

• Avoid “boundary heightening” -- Should not “look” like a gender-based approach (Kanter 1977)

• Approach at NMSU - Make Mentoring Normative– Annual pairings– Mentor training and networking events all year

(1) Connect mentees to mentors who are more central and have denser social networks

Mentor’scommunity

contacts

InstitutionalInformation& resources

Mentor’s colleagues

Mentee Mentor

(2) On-campus on-going events Create a larger community of mentors and mentees.

Mentor’scommunity

contacts

InstitutionalInformation& resources

Mentor’s colleagues

Mentee Mentor

SocialNetworking

Programmatic Practices• Make mentoring normative

– Practice: paired ALL new STEM faculty with mentors outside their department, but within College.

– Invite senior faculty and administrators to participate– Incorporated mentoring into leadership development programming

• Encourage interactions– Practice: pairs complete agreements – Practice: facilitated group interactions

• luncheons, assigned seating, table topics—not always with speaker• mixers, dinners, picnics, open houses

• Training: mentors– Share best practices and hints– Increases connections among people with a positive orientation to

mentoring – Encourage non-hierarchical practices– Gender and ethnic equity issues

- 133 participants; Both genders participating equally

STEMfemales

AllSTEM

STEM, Social & Behavioral Sci.

All Colleges

Data Source: Institutional Research, Planning, and Outcomes Assessment

Retention and Advancement

Policy Change Initiatives• President’s Commission on the Status of Women

– Regular review of data, salaries within rank

– Proposed University Omsbuds position – now in place

– Gender equity / maternity policies – in preparation

• Promotion and Tenure Policy Revision– Transparent criteria and roles

– Flexibility

– Allocation of Effort

• Employee Climate Survey – now every 3 years

• Exit Interviews

NMSU - ADVANCE: Institutionalization

- Sustainability of programs- Fully-funded Associate Director Position

- To continue campus-wide faculty development- Mentoring, P&T, Leadership training, DH Training

- Seeking sources for start-up funds

- President’s CSW, Omsbuds, Employee Climate Survey

• Additional Funding– Legislative Initiative (Advancing Faculty Diversity)

– Development Campaign

– NSF-PAID – Partnering with NMT, UNM, LANL• To disseminate best practices

• Partners: LANL, NMT, NMSU and UNM• To disseminate NMSU’s best practices of:

– Mentoring, P&T Training, Department Head training

– Pipeline focus on Post-docs

• Sustainable mechanisms for Institutional Transformation

NSF-ADVANCE PAID – Partnerships for Adaptation, Implementation and Dissemination

NM-PAID

“Alliance for Faculty Diversity”

NM-PAID Goals• Increase knowledge of Diversity Issues and Strategies

– Mentoring approaches– Promotion and tenure issues– Department Head training

• Institutionalize sustainable grass roots structure for faculty development training– Sustainable grass-roots committees at each institution

• Supported by upper administration• Including women and men

– Annual Department Head Retreats to promote diversity leaders within the ranks

• Provide a pipeline to STEM careers for diverse students– Postdoc and student training– Participation in the professoriate