The goal of this project is to contribute to the development of a national science and engineering academic workforce that includes the full participation of women at all levels of faculty and academic leadership, particularly at the senior academic ranks, through the transformation of institutional practices, policies, climate, and culture. The University of Rhode Island (URI) proposes to use the ADVANCE Institutional Transformation initiative to increase the number and facilitate the career advancement of women STEM faculty, and improve the institutional climate for women scientists. Through a 5-year, multi-level approach, URI will: 1) increase the number of ranked women faculty in the STEM departments, 2) provide existing STEM faculty with career development and training opportunities, 3) improve social support services for faculty, 4) systematically educate and promote awareness of women-in-science issues at the individual, departmental, and administrative levels, and 5) develop and utilize a broadly applicable collaborative organizational change model. The ADVANCE program at URI features a Pre-Faculty Fellows Program, in which qualified doctorates will conduct research (with options for teaching) while being mentored and trained for a 1 - 3 year period, with the intent that they will fill tenure-track STEM faculty positions as they become available. Congruent with this program will be an infrastructure of enhanced support and training, which will also be offered to other STEM faculty. This includes a yearlong series of career workshops, a mentor training program, a topical lunch series, a social networking program, and visiting speakers. The ADVANCE Incentive Fund, eventually fully supported by URI, will provide awards to research endeavors that include women faculty collaborators, especially Pre-Faculty Fellows and junior faculty, and departmental or individual efforts that promote relevant climate or policy changes. In addition, proactive efforts will be made to provide quality support services for balancing work and family, including trailing spouse placement assistance and coordination with an ongoing childcare assistance program. Overseeing the multiple efforts at URI will be an Advisory Committee, a Program Coordinator, a Leadership Team, and auxiliary faculty and staff who have demonstrated a commitment to these issues. Support from top administrators and a permanent ADVANCE Resource Center office with many sponsored campus activities will provide the foundation for a visible, influential presence on campus. Developing a database through a comprehensive self-study will be the first step in a 5-year process of evaluation, action, and reporting, that will culminate in an organizational model for change potentially applicable to other institutions. The theoretical underpinning of the proposed program is the Transtheoretical Model of Change, one of the most influential stage-change models currently in use. Its fundamental premise is that organizational and behavioral change must be welcomed before it is to be successful. At the departmental and administrative levels at URI, meetings, workshops, and speakers aimed at diversity education and awareness will be implemented, using a collaborative framework. The efforts from the ADVANCE initiative will benefit all faculty at URI, will serve as a model for progressive action in Rhode Island and the Northeast, and will be a step towards the inclusion of expanded perspectives in science nationwide.
