Broader Impacts Team Diversity Taskforce

Tonya Peeples, University of Iowa Doug Mupasiri, University of Northern Iowa Diane Rover, Iowa State University Bonnie Bowen, Iowa State University

IOWA EPSCoR

Iowa EPSCoR All-Hands Meeting July 23, 2013

Moving from Diversity to Inclusion

Tonya Peeples Associate Dean for Diversity and Outreach, University of Iowa

• Increase participation of women and underrepresented minorities (URM) in STEM

• Coordinate resources to help faculty, staff, and students create a more welcoming environment with sustainable support systems for success of all participants in STEM disciplines

EPSCoR Priorities for Diversity

How Do We Welcome Diversity?

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

~Maya Angelou

What must we do to influence people of diverse backgrounds to join our community? We must develop a reputation for an

inclusive environment which attracts interest from diverse constituents and enables all persons to thrive.

Critical Impact on Transition (Entry) Points

Perceptions of primary advisors – parents, teachers, friends, faculty mentors, and alumni play a key role in informing career decisions.

Diversity is being invited to the party.

Inclusion is being asked to dance.

Diversity Versus Inclusion

Inclusive Academic Community

Intellectual community

Professional Development

Social Network

Safe space

Sponsors

Support for priority areas

• Helping Search Committees Develop Inclusive Recruitment Plans

• Training Leaders in Equity and Inclusion through National Coalition Building Institute

• Scholarly Mentoring of Faculty through the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity

Current Efforts

Iowa EPSCoR All-Hands Meeting July 23, 2013

Broadening Participation: Lessons Learned from the

ISU ADVANCE Program Bonnie Bowen Co-PI and former Executive Director of the ISU ADVANCE Program

NSF Goal: Increase participation and advancement of women and underrepresented minorities in STEM ISU award: $3.3M 2006-2012 ISU has institutionalized successful initiatives and best practices that can be a resource for the EPSCoR community

• Overcome Barriers to Advancement of STEM Women Faculty

• Identify and Eliminate Department-specific Barriers to Advancement

• Increase Women Faculty in Senior and Leadership Ranks

• Institutionalize Positive Change across ISU

ISU ADVANCE Goals

Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches

• Perceived lack of transparency in evaluation and decision-making processes (such as work assignments and promotion & tenure)

• Isolation from colleagues and other women • Lack of effective mentoring • Work/family management

Barriers to success identified by women faculty at ISU

Promoting Faculty Success: Issues Identified in Collaborative Transformation

1. Collegiality and Work Environment 2. Faculty Recruitment and Hiring 3. Promotion, Tenure and Faculty Evaluation Processes 4. Mentoring Faculty 5. Work-life Balance and Family Friendly Policies 6. Teaching Loads, Course Distribution Practices and

Rewarding Teaching 7. Facilities, Administrative Support and Technical Support

Sharon R. Bird, Carla Fehr, Lisa Larson, and Molly Sween. 2011. ISU ADVANCE Collaborative Transformation Project: Final Focal Department Synthesis Report (March 2011). Iowa State University ADVANCE Program.

Successes of Collaborative Transformation

Data and analyses from ISU Institutional Research and ISU ADVANCE

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Full 11% 11% 11% 12% 13%Assoc 25% 25% 23% 25% 25%Asst 29% 27% 26% 27% 32%Total 19% 18% 18% 19% 20%

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Iowa State University Percent of Tenured & Tenure-Eligible

Women in STEM Disciplines by Rank, 2006-2010

Data and analyses from ISU Institutional Research and ISU ADVANCE

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Resources like these developed by ISU ADVANCE will be available to EPSCoR platforms this fall.

Why Is Diversity Imperative?

• “A matter of national need.” • “S & E workforce impacts our ability to compete in the global

marketplace. All talent is needed.” • “Female and URM faculty will help attract and retain female

and URM students.” • “Diversity enlivens the exchange of ideas, broadens

scholarship, and prepares students for lifelong, productive participation in society.”

• “Diverse teams are more effective problem solvers.” • Our students, their employers and funding agencies

need/expect it

Key Threats to Our Searches

• Beliefs – Some of our colleagues are concerned that seeking women

and under-represented minorities results in a lowering of quality

• Process – Uneven evaluation criteria are used – Unintended bias and cognitive errors – Bias in the information given to us

• Silent bystanders – Saying/doing nothing is being complicit

• Peer review process assumed to be objective. • Some givens about cognitive errors: Biases are often unintentional. Everyone makes them. Decisions made quickly are more susceptible to

unconscious bias. Biases can be advantageous or disadvantageous to those

being evaluated.

Objectivity is Compromised by Cognitive Errors and Unconscious Bias

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Trix and Psenka (2003) “Exploring the color of Glass: Letters of Recommendation for Female and Male Medical Faculty” Discourse & Society 14: 191-220.

Example of Gender Bias Reference Letters Cite “her training”…”his research”

• Cast a wide net • Review files in a systematic way

– Use a matrix – Look at multiple dimensions of a job – Avoid ranking early in the applicant review process

• Use online resources to discover personal biases

Practices to reduce bias

• Use your network of colleagues at other institutions to seek leads to outstanding applicants, including women and minorities.

• Reach out directly to research groups and universities which prepare outstanding Ph.D. graduates and post-doctoral scholars, including women and minorities.

Strategies to “Cast a Wide Net”

• Create a diverse search committee that brings multiple perspectives and fresh ideas to bear.

• Write a position description that provides a compelling vision of research and teaching opportunities and attracts a diverse group of applicants.

• Solicit the names of prospective applicants from caucuses of women and racial/ethnic minorities within relevant professional and academic associations

• Advertise positions in strategic venues selected based upon the scholarly and diversity goals

Strategies to “Cast a Wide Net”

Iowa EPSCoR All-Hands Meeting July 23, 2013

Broadening Participation: Successes and Challenges

Doug Mupasiri Head, Department of Mathematics University of Northern Iowa

Iowa EPSCoR All-Hands Meeting July 23, 2013

Your Thoughts: How to Broaden Participation in

Your Research Platform Doug Mupasiri Head, Department of Mathematics, UNI

Diane Rover Director, IINSPIRE LSAMP Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering, ISU

Broader Impacts Team Diversity Taskforce

Tonya Peeples, University of Iowa Doug Mupasiri, University of Northern Iowa Diane Rover, Iowa State University Bonnie Bowen, Iowa State University

IOWA EPSCoR

• Advertise positions in strategic venues selected based upon the scholarly and diversity goals – University-Wide Examples for Diversity Recruiting

• Faculty for the Future (Free) (http://www.engr.psu.edu/fff/misc/services_positions.asp)

• Black Collegian Online (http://jobsearch.blackcollegian.com/employer/) • Diverse Issues in Higher Education (http://diverseeducation.com/ad-rates/) • DiversityInc.com (http://diversity.jobs.careercast.com/mediakit.php) • DiversityLink

(http://www.diversitylink.com/diversitylink/1001/jobpost_rates_new.htm) • Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education

(http://www.hispanicoutlook.com/rates.htm)

Strategies to “Cast a Wide Net”

• American Indian Science & Engineering Society (AISES) (http://www.aises.com/what/programs/postjobs)

• Association for Women in Computing (http://www.awc-hq.org/home.html)

• Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) (http://www.hacu.net/hacu/InformationRates.asp)

• National Society of Black Engineers (http://www.nsbe.org/Career/Post-Jobs.aspx)

• Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) (http://www.latpro.com/USER/RECR/cobrand_landing.php?1222790787)

• Society of Women Engineers (http://careers.swe.org/post.cfm)

• ASEE Women in Engineering Division (http://wied.asee.org/jobs.html)

Professional Organizations Which Serve Diverse Engineering Constituents