The proposed project will bring together effective elements from the current UM IT program to form a new activity, STEP (Science and Technology Excellence Program). STEP's goal is the creation of faculty change agents through intensive faculty study of key processes in the career trajectory of scientists and through intervention activities. The proposal draws on the social science literature regarding unconscious bias, accumulation of disadvantage, critical mass, and theories of organization and seeks to contribute a new model for intensified institutional change. The project goal is to engage groups of male and female STEM faculty in a program of self-education and commitment to becoming active change agents within their academic institutions. The program will bring together several successful activities developed in the course of the UM ADVANCE Institutional Transformation project. This project will contribute a new model for intensified institutional transformation by engaging senior faculty in an intensive (concentrated) and extensive process of becoming change agents within a network of faculty committed to the same goals, and supported over time.
Broader impact: The program will directly reach 300 STEM faculty drawn from UM, the Midwest region, and nationally. The first cohort of UM faculty will participate in networks of later participants, some of whom will also take actions nationally within their disciplines, increasing the impact on the STEM fields. All faculty participants should become better advocates within their institutions and serve as models and leaders for colleagues. Because faculty participants will be operating in departmental teams and larger networks, they will also model alliances of men and women scientists and engineers. The project will include the development of a companion website that will serve several purposes. It will provide information about the model developed through this project, including resources, reading lists, and a toolkit for developing similar programs at other institutions. In addition, it will manage a discussion board to allow participants to maintain connections developed through participation in the program and provide opportunities to share information and as well as help one another problem-solve particular challenges.
