NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award at UWMadison

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NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award
at UW-Madison
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Women in Science Engineering Leadership
Institute (WISELI)

• a visible, campus-wide entity, endorsed by
  top-level administrators, which will use
  UW-Madison as a "living laboratory" to study the
  problem of low numbers of women in high levels
  of academic science engineering and implement
  solutions.
• Established as a Center based in the College of
  Engineering

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Women in Science Engineering Leadership
Institute (WISELI)

• General strategy hit the issues from all angles
  and imbed them in every discussion
• Mount new initiatives that fill gaps in
  UW-Madisons environment
• Evaluate impact of both old and new initiatives
• Develop a visible presence on campus
• Disseminate best-practices

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WISELI People

• Co-Directors
• Molly Carnes, Prof. of Medicine (Medical School)
• Jo Handelsman, Prof. of Plant Pathology (CALS)
• Research Director
• Jennifer Sheridan, Ph.D., Sociology
• Leadership Team (6 schools/colleges)
• Center for Biology Educ, Chemistry, Electrical
  Computer Engineering, Engineering Physics, Ed.
  Policy Studies, English/Linguistics, Industrial
  Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Nursing,
  Ob/Gyn, Physics, Sociology
• Others
• Eve Fine, Ph.D., Researcher, History of Science
• Christine Pribbenow, Ph.D., Evaluation Dir., Ed
  Policy
• Deveny Benting, Evaluator
• Student hourlie

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Why a Center?

• Mission cannot be accommodated by a departmental
  structure
• Interdisciplinary (14 departments, 6 schools/
  colleges)
• Emphasizes the institutional research focus of
  WISELI
• Establishes potential means for sustainability
  beyond ADVANCE funding

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Why in the College of Engineering?

• Strategic for securing grant and establishing
  campuswide presence
• Lack of women a more acute problem
• Enthusiastic support of Dean
• Supports strategic plan of CoE
• Recruit, support, and retain a world-class
  diverse faculty.

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Collaborations with other UW-Madison Programs

• Provosts Office diversity initiatives (AVC for
  Diversity and Climate Bernice Durand)
• The Center for Womens Health Research (Dir
  Molly Carnes)
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute New Generation
  Program (Dir Jo Handelsman)
• Diversity Affairs Office in the College of
  Engineering (Dir Douglass Henderson)

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WISELI Initiatives

• Resources
• Workplace Interactions
• Life-Career Interface
• Professional/personal Development,
  Leadership,Visibility
• Overarching

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WISELI InitiativesResources

• Resource study (new)
• Pay equity study (existing)

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WISELI InitiativesWorkplace Interactions

• Provosts climate initiative (existing)
• Sexual harassment information sessions (existing)
• Workshops for deans and department chairs (new)
• Training of hiring committee chairs (new)

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WISELI InitiativesLife-Career Interface

• Tenure clock extensions (existing)
• Dual-career couples (existing)
• Campus child care (existing)
• Split appointments (existing)
• Life cycle research grants (new)

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WISELI InitiativesDevelopment, Leadership,
Visibility

• WISE Dorms (existing)
• Women faculty mentoring program (existing)
• Celebrating Women in Science Engineering
  Symposia (new)
• Grant program
• WISELI seminar

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WISELI InitiativesDevelopment, Leadership,
Visibility
Leadership development and/or tenure-track
conversion of non-tenure-track women
(new) Leadership development/mentoring for
senior women (new) Networks, promote
communication, increase visibility (new)
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WISELI InitiativesOverarching

• Committee on Women in the University (existing)
• WISELI (new)
• Video documentation of institutional
  transformation (new)
• Evaluation/research (new)

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• Life Cycle Research Grants
• Creating Space
• Celebrating Women in SE Grants
• Conversion to tenure-track
• Awards and honors
• Leadership Development for academic staff

• Discourse analysis of womens communication
  strategies
• Ethnographic study of gendered interactions in
  the laboratory setting
• Interviews with women engineers at the beginning
  of the career

• Climate Workshops for Department Chairs
• Workshops for Search Committee Chairs
• Senior women initiative
• Documentary Video

• Resource Study
• Study of Faculty and Academic Staff Worklife at
  UW-Madison
• Interviews with women faculty and staff in SE

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WISELI
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WISELI
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WISELI
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Strategies that seem to be working

• Involving all stakeholders at all stages, in
  multiple formats
• E.g. Town Hall meetings, senior women faculty,
  multiple meetings at all levels (Deans, Schools,
  Depts, committees)
• Empowering Leadership Team
• Individual meetings career coaching sabbatical
  support
• Keeping the focus on research
• Success in valued metrics publications and
  grants (e.g. LSAMP, AGEP, NIH Roadmap)

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Strategies that seem to be working

• Bringing the data back to the participants
• Matching the messenger to the message
• E.g. Engineering faculty present to College of
  Engineering
• Collaborating with other diversity efforts
• Keep gender in the diversity discussions
• Keep diversity in gender discussions

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What doesnt/didnt work

• Workshops only from Campus Administration
  (UW-Madison is steeped in faculty governance)
• Bringing in an institutional coach

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Summary

• Gaining and disseminating understanding about why
  it is so difficult even when individuals and
  institutions are committed and well intentioned
• Hitting the issue from all angles so that people
  are singing it in the shower!
• Working to make WISELI endure to continue
  institutional research

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