Studies of science, engineering and technology point out the paucity of women at the full professor level (18%) in four year colleges and universities (2003 NSF Science and Engineering Indicators). This scarcity means there are few women candidates for leadership positions since department chairs, deans, provosts, and leaders of research teams are typically full professors. Because full professors carry prestige and influence, and because the number of women in those positions is lacking, we must understand and address the difficulties women face in becoming promoted to full professor to break through the glass ceiling that limits women's accessibility to administrative positions. The PROMOTE project will both increase our understanding of the transition from associate to full professor and address the difficulties through an implementation phase.
In part one, we will study associate and full professors at seven western public research universities to better understand the factors associated with promotion - the first cross-institutional study on this career stage. In part two, we will draw on the findings of this study to adapt, implement, and disseminate a set of four key activities identified as instrumental in increasing promotion rates. In this phase, Utah State University will partner with six western public research universities Kansas State, New Mexico State, University of Kansas, North Dakota State University, University of Idaho and Oregon State University. The activities we will implement are 1) promotion workshops held by the Provost's Offices on the various campuses, 2) development and dissemination of clear guidelines on the processes and expectations for promotion by deans and department heads (chairs), 3) development of review mechanisms for the promotion to full process and 4) coaching for interested faculty. The partnering institutions bring a variety of experiences to this project. Three of the universities, Utah State, Kansas State and New Mexico State, have had ADVANCE-IT awards and have been working on increasing the recruitment, retention and advancement of women STEM faculty. Kansas State has developed innovative career planning and mentoring programs. New Mexico State has developed a successful mentoring program, which they are currently working to disseminate. Four of the universities have not received ADVANCE awards but are committed to increasing the representation of women among their STEM faculty. These universities are located in small cities in the western United States and face challenges in recruiting senior women. As evidenced by recruitment and promotion numbers, none of these institutions can solve the shortage of senior women faculty through recruitment, they must "grow their own" senior women.
The intellectual merits of PROMOTE reside in the increased understanding of the transition from associate to full professor. In order to propose effective interventions, we must understand the barriers to promotion and how best to ameliorate them. Although the recruitment of faculty and the tenure process have been the subject of numerous studies, there have been few studies of the next stage in an academic scientist's career path.
The broader impacts of PROMOTE are several. PROMOTE will develop, test, adapt, evaluate and disseminate a set of relatively simple and inexpensive activities focusing on promotion to full that could then be adopted by universities across the country. In this way, many institutions can see the growth in senior women on campus that Utah State has experienced.
