Enhancing Cultural Attunement
ADVANCE promotes respectful communication, sensitivity to the dynamics of relationships within a culture, and respect for the values and beliefs of cultures. It comes from the active and vigilant practice of maintaining cultural humility, and represents active attention and ongoing mindfulness. To realize this, we will implement diversity depth hires, build an equity search toolkit and equity advisor program, and continue to engage the MSU community in unconscious bias education.
Diversity Depth HiresTo create an incentive for a department to increase the depth of diversity within their faculty, the department that has only one or two women faculty members may submit a proposal to perform a diversity search (diversity as a required characteristic) for a second or third woman faculty member. That department may propose to search immediately and "pay for" the hire when a faculty line in the department comes open (as a mortgage of sorts). The goal of diversity depth hiring is to reduce the isolation that single members of an underrepresented group often feel. We have commitment by the Provost to sustain four such hires, one of which is donated by the Montana EPSCoR project. Funding will be tapered off each year, with all of the funding for the line being assumed by the department by the end of the grant. The President's Commission will establish guidelines, review proposals and submit rankings to the Provost (Co-PI) and we have the support for such hires from Deans and Department Heads. |
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What we will do |
Timeline |
Hypothesized Need-support |
Diversity Depth "Hire-Now" Program |
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Relatedness |
Search Tool kitWith the assistance of H.R. and best practices from other ADVANCE grant programs we will create a Search Committee Tool Kit that provides training modules for committee members; equity advisors; assistance with creation of ads/solicitations; 'de-bugging' of department websites to highlight commitment to diversity; and guidance for campus visits and offer letters. |
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What we will do |
Timeline |
Hypothesized Need-support |
Development of Diversity Search Tool Kit |
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Relatedness |
Institutional Education/TrainingMSU will continue to engage in campus-wide conversations about unconscious bias in general and specific places in which gender bias is prevalent (e.g., work-life issues). These workshops and programs will be on-going with the entire university four-campus community (not just faculty). Such a program includes: 1) bringing a professional workshop facilitator or invited speakers to campus; 2) the development of a website that can serve as an information portal for Deans and Department Heads across campuses; and 3) the dissemination of printed materials to be provided as a packet at various critical employment or family junctures, including information for candidates during the course of campus interviews, information for faculty members at new hire orientations, information for faculty members at the time of a relevant "major life transition", as well as information for members of hiring committees, annual review committees and promotion and tenure committees. We have secured commitment from H.R. to provide supplemental support for these programs. |
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What we will do |
Timeline |
Hypothesized Need-support |
Institutional Education Campaign |
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Relatedness |
Equity AdvocateMSU will establish a program of (male and female) equity advocates who receive specific training in diversity awareness and cultural attunement. They would not have decision making authority, but would specifically contribute a voice that values diverse perspectives to all personnel (e.g., search, P&T) and budget committees and serve as general advocates for equity and diversity on campus. They would be compensated for their efforts and highly trained. We have commitment by the Director of Faculty Development and H.R to assist with the organization and training of the Equity Advocates. |
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What we will do |
Timeline |
Hypothesized Need-support |
Create Equity Advisor Program |
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Relatedness |
Equity Data AnalystCompletely funded by the Office of the President, we will hire a part-time analyst responsible for ongoing data collection and analyses to monitor gender equity among faculty and disseminate findings. Importantly, the analyst would set up a system so that such data would be transparent, publicly available, and accessible for investigation. |
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What we will do |
Timeline |
Hypothesized Need-support |
Hire New Equity Data Analyst |
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Relatedness |
Diversity in Department Head/Chair Reviews (Departmental Self-Study)We will implement a new policy that requires all departments to outline a strategic plan regarding diversity; specifically for overcoming weaknesses and celebrating successes. All departments will be asked to present data each year on how well the plan is being met. This portion of the department's evaluation will be submitted each year to the chair of the President's Commission on the Status of University Women for evaluation and feedback. |
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What we will do |
Timeline |
Hypothesized Need-support |
Require departments to include enhancing diversity in Departmental Reviews |
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Relatedness |
Women in Science Distinguished Professorship:
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What we will do |
Timeline |
Hypothesized Need-support |
Establish Women in Science Distinguished Professorship: Life, Natural, Engineering, and Social Sciences |
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Relatedness |
