Washington State University is deeply committed to fostering an environment that pro-motes diversity. Despite this commitment, challenges remain in achieving gender equity among the faculty and leadership in sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The premise of the Excellence in Sciences and Engineering (EXCELinSE) at WSU project is that women are lost from the academy at critical transition points: after the PhD; pre- tenure; post-tenure; and at personal milestones (e.g., childbirth). Our project goals are to: (1) increase representation of women in STEM disciplines by providing institutional support at these critical points; (2) develop/disseminate innovative strategies for other research-intensive, rural, land grant universities; and (3) create an infrastructure that provides the highest institutional support, and insures transformation beyond the lifetime of the grant.
Our four major initiatives are: (1) Preparing and Recruiting a Diverse Faculty, designed to encourage new women STEM PhD graduates to consider academic careers; (2) Work/Life Initiative, to address institutional and individual barriers to retention and advancement for all university faculty members; (3) Leadership Training Initiative, which addresses climate and leadership barriers to recruitment, retention and advancement; and (4) Institutionalizing Transformation Initiative, which is aimed at organizing, monitoring and assessing institutional progress, and disseminating best practices to the broader academic community. These initiatives will be implemented through the Center for EXCELinSE at WSU.
These initiatives include innovations that address our unique situation and have the potential to impact our peer institutions, including: (1) The EXCELinSE Summer Doctoral Fellows program, where women STEM PhD candidates from other research institutions spend the summer on the WSU-Pullman campus, attending workshops on research and academic careers, receiving mentoring from faculty members in STEM disciplines, and working on completing their dissertations; (2) The Dual-Career Partnership with University of Idaho, to provide reciprocal partner accommodation resources at both universities; (3) The Infant Care Placeholder program; and (4) The External Mentoring program, in which STEM faculty women are linked with successful women faculty at other universities for mentoring.
Intellectual merit: The research component of this project will provide insights into diffusion of new practices through academic organizations and the impact on departmental cultures and leadership. By identifying the departmental-level factors that enhance or inhibit the institutionalization of initiatives, this research will benefit other institutions seeking transformation. We will both import successful ADVANCE initiatives from other institutions and demonstrate our own innovative initiatives that are unique to our situation (e.g., the Dual Career Partnership with the University of Idaho), that will benefit both WSU and the broader research university community (e.g., the EXCLEinSE Summer Doctoral Fellows Program), that are applicable to research-intensive, rural, land-grant institutions (e.g., Infant Care Placeholder program), or that are applicable to the general academy (e.g., the External Mentoring program).
Broader impacts. Addressing the special challenges associated with women faculty in STEM disciplines at small, rural communities has implications for other similar institutions. For example, the Summer Doctoral Fellows program will benefit not only WSU but other research institutions that hire the fellows after they complete the program. This project will advance our understanding of the impact of preparing future faculty for the professoriate, creating a work/life responsive workplace, and leadership initiatives on attracting, recruiting, and advancing women in academic STEM disciplines. Improving the climate for all faculty will result in the retention and advancement of a diverse faculty which provides more role models for students. This will ultimately lead to increases in students pursuing careers in STEM, thus addressing a national need.
