Why Bother? Helping Women Achieve Full Professor Rank Christine A. Hult Utah State University

Institutional Transformation National Data on Women’s Advancement –National Academies report, Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering (2006). –Utah State is below peers for all full profs: USU 32%; peers 45% – Utah State at 11.8% women full professors is substantially below the national average for Public Doctorate institutions (19.1%) and our peer institutions (16.5%). –NDSU 6% women full STEM; 10% non-STEM

NSF’s ADVANCE “The goal of the ADVANCE program is to increase the participation of women in the scientific and engineering workforce through the increased representation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers” (NSF ADVANCE 2004). Utah State University is one of the 48 schools to receive an NSF-ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award. –[Recruitment, Retention, Advancement]

ADVANCE at Utah State Recruitment –Overall hiring for the STEM colleges was at 54% of availability during the five years prior to ADVANCE and at 92% of availability during of ADVANCE. Retention –Since ADVANCE began, non-retirement attrition rates for women STEM faculty members have dropped from 0.08% per year to 0.04% per year. Based on the October 2006 faculty survey, the non-retirement attrition rate for women was lower than for men.

Hiring Compared to Availability

Advancement At the start of the Utah State ADVANCE project there were five women full professors in the four STEM colleges. Only five women had been promoted from associate to full professor during the previous 16 years, with no promotions in the previous four years. The goal of the Utah State ADVANCE team was to have women promoted from associate to full professor in the STEM colleges and for promotion rates of women to equal those of men. Eight women in STEM have been promoted to full professor during the Utah State ADVANCE project. In a greater percentage of women associate professors were promoted to full than men associate professors. –[Will discuss the initiatives to achieve these results later]

Why Bother? Financial benefits Status & power benefits Leadership opportunities –Department Head/Chair –Dean, Provost, Vice President –President, Chancellor [Will discuss each in turn]

Financial Benefits Large salary bump typically occurs at promotion to full professor Percentage increases on a larger base for merit and COLA Chance to increase retirement savings [example]

Savings Comparison Begin at age 25 $300/mo or $ % annual return Reinvest earnings Total at age 65=$1,064,457 To maintain your standard of living in retirement, you need times your annual income; if you earn $80,000, that’s 1 million Begin at age 35 $300/mo or $ % annual return Reinvest earnings Total at age 65=$447,173 Arnold, NPR, 1/4/2008 “Resolving to Retire with a Nest Egg”

Status & Power Benefits Group of full professor women can have a powerful influence on campus Full professors are “insulated” from campus political fallout because they have reached their highest rank and can speak out on issues Enormously privileged position on campus

Leadership Opportunities To move into administration, one needs the full professor rank Too few department chairs are women, partly because fewer women are eligible, since they often get “stuck” at associate Full professor rank is needed to be lead PI on significant grants and research teams

Initiatives that Help Climate surveys Departmental transformation Policy revisions Faculty programs Faculty grants –[Will discuss each in turn]

Climate Surveys Job Satisfaction Survey Focus Groups Interviews Campus-wide Climate Survey

Departmental Transformations Faculty Interviews & interventions Mediators and ombudspersons Mentoring Leadership training Recruitment training/intervention [SERT team]

Policy Revisions Campus-wide dialogue –Accurate data and information Transparency –Clear procedures for promotion –Clear standards for promotion Timelines to promotion Mentoring by administrators and senior faculty Meetings to discuss process/standards Ombudspersons who attend T&P meetings

Faculty Programs Brownbag workshops Leadership programs –Bernice Sandler –Virginia Valian –Joan Williams Mentoring guides One-on-one mentoring Training for search committees and T&P committees [SERT]

Faculty Grants Collaborative Seed Grants –$8-10K, Must include at least one woman from STEM Associate to Full Grants –Dept match; promotion committee letter; typically 2 course buyout Transitional Support Grants –Life transitions, e.g. health, family crisis; keep research going during such times

Dissemination Leading Change (JP Kotter 1996) & communication Using data to implement change Newsletters Websites Executive summaries White papers Powerpoint presentations Publications

For more information... USU ADVANCE WEBSITE