Shippensburg University is a teaching institution that will partner with regional campuses in the central Pennsylvania area to promote the recruitment, retention and advancement of women in the academic STEM disciplines. The proposed ADVANCE PAID institutional partners are Elizabethtown College and Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. The primary goals of this project are to assess the climate among central Pennsylvania institutions and develop a web based resource to support gender equity strategies. This project seeks to link all partner institutions in a professional network through the statewide Innovation Transfer Network (ITN), a shared entity that creates opportunities for technology transfer in the central Pennsylvania region. Additionally, the ITN serves nine other regional institutions, including a community college. Collectively, the ITN represents over 3,000 faculty, thus, the Shippensburg University PAID project consists of a broad base for transformation and relevant outcomes assessment of gender equity activity.
Intellectual Merit The intellectual merit of this project lies in the focus on analysis, modification and adoption of proven ADVANCE best practices for promoting and supporting the advancement of women faculty at non research intensive institutions. The highly developed and synergistic partnership is a strong asset to the project and will, ultimately, impact thousands of faculty across the central Pennsylvania region and serve as a model for the remainder of the state's higher education system.
Broader Impact Because of the focus of this project on teaching, non research intensive institutions, the Shippensburg ADVANCE PAID project will have a dramatic impact on promoting gender equity at all institutions of similar type in the US. This is particularly significant given the disproportionately high number of women faculty who are employed at these institution types.
