Originally funded by a National Science Foundation ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award in 2016, SU Advance program overall goal is institutional, cultural, and structural transformation to align our expectations and faculty reward structures with our educational mission. The work focused on cultivating institutional changes necessary to implement a sustainable faculty development path toward advancement that includes recognition and reward of traditionally hidden or under-valued work. Key milestones from our original work included the successful revision of the Seattle University guidelines for promotion to full professor, as well as the implementation of workshops and mentoring sessions for faculty.
The program continues with Seattle University, Gonzaga University and Saint Louis University jointly received a $1 million ADVANCE Partnership award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to increase the recognition and inclusivity of faculty promotions processes with the overarching goal of encouraging change across all 28 members of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU).
This current grant, led by Jodi O’Brien, funds the “Reimagining the Professoriate” project, which focuses on evaluating and assigning merit to traditionally undervalued faculty activities and expanding conceptions of the traditional research model to include a more comprehensive consideration of what counts in the categories of scholarship, research and teaching.
ADVANCE: Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers
The NSF ADVANCE program is designed to foster gender and racial equity through a focus on the identification and elimination of organizational barriers that impede the full participation and advancement of diverse faculty in academic institutions.
Learn more about NSF ADVANCE here (https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/advance/)
