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INTRODUCTION TO COHORT ACTIVITIES

The NSF ADVANCE/Adaptation program funds efforts to apply and adapt evidence-based strategies for improving faculty gender equity among STEM faculty. �㽶����ֱ��’s program, FLAGS (Faculty Leaders Advancing Gender Equity in STEM), specifically focuses on providing research-supported developmental opportunities to department chairs so that they can in turn affect improvements at the department level. So far, FLAGS has successfully organized 3 cohorts of Department Chairs/Deans/Associate Deans/Directors, who participated in a year-long program to improve gender equity among the faculty in their unit. Upon completing the program, the cohort members were eligible to receive a grant to help them implement changes in their unit (about $3000). Many members of all cohorts are planning or working on their projects. Below, we describe some of the initial results

Cohort 1 

 In 2021-2022, a cohort of 8 department chairs and one interim dean (in the STEM area) participated in the program. The cohort members attended multiple virtual workshops (organized by FLAGS) for comprehensive chair training. At the end of the training, they formed different groups to develop and implement their projects for their department/college. Each cohort member was awarded up to $3000 for the project. 

Participating departments of group 1: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (led by Dr. Murad Hizlan), Department of Physics (led by Dr. Petru Fodor), and Department of Psychology (led by Dr. Conor T McLennan).   

Group 1 Activity: One faculty lead in each department was identified. They are Dr. Sunnie Chung (computer science), Dr. Thijs Heus (Physics), and Dr. Shereen Naser (Psychology). Dr. Chung and Dr. Naser attended two conferences, respectively, regarding diversity, inclusion, and equity in their disciplines. Subsequently, Dr. Chung presented her findings from the conference in the college of Engineering. The abstract and PowerPoint Slides of Dr. Chung’s presentation are given as follows.

NSF ADVANCE: Let’s Start a Discussion on Work Life Balance
Presenter: Dr. Sunnie Chung, EECS
Time: May 2, 2023 11:30AM – 12:30PM, Room: WH405

Abstract:
This talk is a part of the on-going effort of the project FLAGS (the Faculty Leaders Advancing Gender Equity in STEM) funded by NSF’s ADVANCE program to achieve gender equity among faculty, particularly STEM faculty at �㽶����ֱ��. The project focuses on developing a successful model to utilize evidence-based practices that positively impact gender equity at �㽶����ֱ�� for department chairs/ school directors to enhance the knowledge and skills needed to improve gender equity within their units and among their faculty. This talk is to stimulate discussions around work-life balance with related subjects to encourage faculty to participate in activities related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to create cultural change to improve gender equity for faculty at �㽶����ֱ��. This talk will introduce and discuss several related subjects and practical problems in gender, race and equity among faculty that have been identified and published in the literature for the Work Life Balance. Some of the subjects to be discussed include Gender, Race and Faculty workload inequities, Implicit Bias, and Microaggressions at work.
Link to the presentation file (Click to open)

Cohort 3

In the spring and summer of 2023, a cohort of 11 department chairs, associate deans, and deans participated in the program. The cohort members attended seven virtual workshops (organized by FLAGS) for training related to gender equity. At the end of the training, they formed different groups to develop and implement their projects for their department/college. Each cohort member was awarded up to $3000 for the project.   

A combined group of Cohort 2 and Cohort 3 participants invited Florida International University (FIU)’s ADVANCE Women, Equity, and Diversity (AWED) Theater group to perform “The Search” at �㽶����ֱ�� at the beginning of engineering Faculty Retreat on Aug. 25, 2023. "The Search" is an interactive workshop that examines the complexities and dynamic tensions of a faculty search process. The performance was supported by NSF ADVANCE at �㽶����ֱ��.

FIU AWED theater performance: The Search