ADVANCE

ADVANCE is initiative of the National Science Foundation. The program contributes to the NSF’s goal of promoting a diverse and capable science and engineering workforce within higher education. The funding acquired supports equity and inclusion of women in STEM and mitigates the systemic factors that create inequities in academic workplaces.

ADVANCE at MSU

Between 2008-2014, Michigan State University administered a $4 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that funded the ADVANCE: Advancing Diversity Through Alignment of Policies and Practices (ADAPP) project to reduce the institutional barriers to increase the diversity of women in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

As a result of ADVANCE ADAPP, MSU facilitated broad impact through the creation of a set appointments and resources to support the recruitment, retention and success of women faculty at various stages of their academic careers.

 

ADVANCE: Advancing Diversity Through Alignment of Policies and Practices (ADAPP)

ADVANCE ADAPP established the mechanisms for implementing transformational change by creating five robust toolkits to facilitate the efforts to increase the diversity of STEM. Another significant outcome of the project was the creation of Faculty Excellence Advocates, or FEAs, embedded in each college who, in addition to other equity practices, ensure the institution-wide distribution of the toolkits.

Through these efforts, ADAPP established the expectation that all members support these efforts as a shared educational responsibility.

Beyond ADAPP

Building upon the foundations of ADAPP, MSU now seeks funding to create inclusive work cultures that ensure intersectional equity. 

MSU Today article

ADVANCE Partnership: STEM Intersectional Equity in Departments (SIEDS): A Partnership for Inclusive Work Cultures

Consistent with the initial success of ADAPP, MSU seeks to expand upon these foundations with an updated ADVANCE: STEM Intersectional Equity in Departments (SIEDS): A Partnership for Inclusive Work Cultures proposal in 2022-23 academic year in partnership with The Ohio State University and Wayne State University, to address barriers to intersectional equity and to create inclusive work cultures in STEM. 

Goal

The goal of SIEDS is to advance best practices in improving women and underrepresented minority faculty’s sense of belonging in STEM departments through an intersectional approach, adapting gender equity and evidence based systemic change strategies resulting in regional and national transformation of the workplace. 

Proposed Programs

The SIEDS proposal focuses on creating healthy and productive work cultures that attract and retain talent in STEM disciplines, focusing especially on women of color and other minorities who are additionally underrepresented. The strategy for evidence based systemic change is to create and implement a toolkit for creating an inclusive and equitable departmental culture. In addition, the toolkit will include a rubric for assessing work that contributes to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice within STEM disciplines, guidance on providing support across the faculty lifecycle with equitable workload allocation and leadership development to create more active and engaged supporters for women and underrepresented minorities in STEM. 

The project will be intersectional, responding to the conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the heightened awareness of violence against unarmed people of color and the subsequent racial reckoning occurring across the United States.

For more information email Rajalakshmi Nadadur, nadadurk@msu.edu

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