ADVANCE-IMPACT AT GEORGIA STATE
Intersectionality and Mentoring in the Professoriate for Advancement, Community and Transformation
Welcome to ADVANCE-IMPACT at Georgia State University, a partnership between Georgia State and Florida International University supported by the National Science Foundation’s ADVANCE Program.
Learn more about ADVANCE-IMPACT at Georgia State, our aims, strategies and more below.
About
ADVANCE
The NSF ADVANCE program’s goal is to broaden the implementation of evidence-based systemic change strategies that promote equity for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) faculty in academic workplaces and the academic profession. The NSF ADVANCE program provides grants to enhance the systemic factors that support equity and inclusion and to mitigate the systemic factors that create inequities in the academic profession and workplaces. Learn more about NSF ADVANCE at this link.
ADVANCE-IMPACT at Georgia State
With the support of a $1 million ADVANCE adaptation grant from the NSF, the goal of ADVANCE-IMPACT (Intersectionality and Mentoring in the Professoriate for Advancement, Community and Transformation) is to adapt and implement practices at the university aimed at increasing the number of women, particularly women from underrepresented minority (URM) backgrounds, who are recruited, promoted, and retained in STEM tenure track positions and in Georgia State leadership by forming a partnership between Georgia State and Florida International University (FIU).
ADVANCE-IMPACT will adapt proven programs and procedures to achieve four key objectives as listed below.
Our Objectives
In collaboration with FIU, we will adapt proven programs and procedures to:
Aim 1: Recruitment for Diversity & Excellence
The recruitment and hiring of faculty is widely recognized as an essential component of a thriving university community. This can be especially important when colleges and departments are attempting to fill STEM tenure-track faculty positions. In order to address this critical need, the ADVANCE-IMPACT team will implement a best practices in faculty hiring program. This program involves implementing an empirically-supported training that presents best practices for producing robust applicant pools and evaluating candidates fairly and consistently. Best practices programs have been implemented across universities with NSF ADVANCE programs, as well as U.S. institutions external to ADVANCE and internationally. The training developed for Georgia State University will fit the dynamic needs of our institution and will be provided to STEM search committees.
Aim 2: Bystander Leadership Program
Georgia State will adopt and adapt FIU’s Bystander Leadership Program (BLP) in collaboration with FIU to raise awareness among STEM faculty and administrators about implicit biases and their impact on women and underrepresented minority (URM) faculty.
Aim 3: Faculty Mentoring
Georgia State will collaborate with FIU to adapt and implement the University of Michigan’s mentoring program. Mentorship is considered one of the most crucial factors in a faculty member’s success, and the benefits include enhanced productivity, professional development, advancement, job satisfaction, retention and greater access to opportunities.
Aim 4: Review of GSU Policies and Best Practices
The ADVANCE-IMPACT Policy Review Committee will assist with the development and review of policies and procedures that impact the recruitment, retention, and advancement of faculty in STEM. The focus during the grant period will be on policies and procedures for service distribution and faculty review and promotion, with the long-term (beyond the life of the current NSF funding) goal of participating routinely in developing and reviewing policies and procedures that impact faculty in STEM.
An intersectional approach guides the design, implementation, and evaluation of all proposed activities.