3:35 p.m., Sept. 8, 2008----Funding from the National Science Foundation will help to transform the culture for women faculty in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields at the University of Delaware by educating faculty and administrators in best practices for recruitment and retention. The $307,936 grant was awarded through NSF's ADVANCE program, which is aimed at developing systemic approaches to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers, thereby contributing to the development of a more diverse workforce in these areas.

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UD received a PAID (Partnerships for Adaptation, Implementation and Dissemination) award, which supports the use of existing innovative materials and practices. Led by Michael Chajes, dean of the College of Engineering, and Tom Apple, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the project will build on successful ADVANCE programs at the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin Madison. The UD project team also includes Pamela Cook-Ioannidis, associate dean of engineering and professor of mathematical sciences, and Kathryn Scantlebury, professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

“We place tremendous value on recruiting and retaining women,” Chajes says. “This project will enable us to implement best practices from other institutions so that we can improve on what we're already doing to ensure that the organizational climate here supports those goals.”

Apple points out that the project also will broaden the impact of work carried out at other ADVANCE institutions by adapting and disseminating it at UD.

“The University of Delaware is smaller than the universities of Michigan and Wisconsin,” Apple says, “so our use and modification of their ADVANCE materials may highlight different issues that impact female faculty.”

The specific goals of the project are to develop a cohort of faculty to prepare and lead workshops for STEM faculty and administrators on recruitment and mentoring, implement a mentoring and educational process for tenured faculty, and increase awareness and understanding of gender issues among faculty leaders and administrators.

“There has been a lot of good news for STEM women at UD in the past few years,” Cook says. “The proportion of tenured/tenure track women faculty within the College of Engineering increased over the past 10 years from 5 percent of the total faculty to 15 percent, and the number of tenured female faculty in engineering more than doubled in the same timeframe.”

“We're also very excited about a major award from the National Institutes of Health for osteoarthritis research, which includes a unique mentoring program to foster the development of women biomedical researchers at UD,” Cook says.

That program is led by Thomas Buchanan, senior associate dean of engineering, who recently won the E.A. Trabant Award for Women's Equity. As chairperson of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Buchanan played a key role in increasing the number of tenure/tenure-track women faculty in the College of Engineering. He also is credited with improving the climate for female faculty and students.

Despite these accomplishments, there is still work to be done.

Scantlebury, who has extensive knowledge of gender studies, says that without constant pressure and proactive initiatives, the recruitment and retention of women faculty can falter. “Recruitment is just the first step,” she says. “Benign neglect of women faculty as they proceed through the stages of their academic careers can result in job dissatisfaction and loss of productivity, so providing a favorable organizational climate is critical.”

The UD team will be supported by Eve Fine from the University of Wisconsin and Abigail Stewart from the University of Michigan, who will consult on adaptation and use of materials from their respective ADVANCE programs. In addition, Virginia Valian, an expert on gender and the workplace, will help to identify research articles and findings for use by an ADVANCE project study group. Finally, Geri Richmond, who is known for her extensive international efforts in recruiting and mentoring women in the sciences, will assist in assessing beta tests of materials and workshops.

Chajes emphasizes that while the ADVANCE PAID project focuses on women in science and engineering, the best practices implemented, adapted and disseminated through the workshops will benefit under-represented groups of all kinds.

“In the short term, successful implementation of this program will result in even better hiring practices and in increased diversity in STEM research areas across the University of Delaware,” Chajes says. “In the long run, the program will benefit everyone.”

Article by Diane Kukich
Photo by Kathy Atkinson