Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) has launched an
initiative to improve the campus climate for women faculty in STEM and
social and behavioral science (SBS) fields. The initiative is funded by
the National Science Foundation as part of its ADVANCE program, which seeks to promote equity for STEM faculty through evidence-based systemic change strategies.
FAMU’s initiative is called the FAMU ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Initiative
and is led by Marcia Allen Owens, associate professor of environmental
science and policy and director of the newly created Center for Faculty
ADVANCEment. Twenty women STEM and SBS faculty will be selected as
fellows and will receive mentorship and development opportunities over
the course of five years.
The
program aims to impact how Historically Black Colleges and Universities
address gender disparities in faculty success. Owens told Diverse: Issues In Higher Education,
“As the only Black woman and the first to earn tenure in Environmental
Sciences at a large HBCU, I wondered why so few of us were faculty when
most of our students were Black women. The NSF ADVANCE grant stood out
as one that would help me to use research to find answers to my
questions.”
The faculty at FAMU is more diverse than the national average, according to the initiative’s news release. However, although half of women faculty hold the rank of instructor, only 16.9 percent are full professors.
“The
focus of the Institutional Transformation projects is not to help women
survive the system,” Owens said. “The goal is to examine and address
aspects of the system’s embedded culture, policies, and practices that
impede the hiring, retention, and promotion of women STEM/SBS faculty at
FAMU. A friend told me a while ago that trailblazers don’t have
mentors. This project seeks to remedy that by creating a formal
mentoring system for women in STEM/SBS.”
—Carly O’Connell
At a Glance
Member Institution: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Initiative: FAMU ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Initiative
Goal:
Transform the institutional climate, culture, policy and practices so
that women faculty in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and
in the social and behavioral sciences, will join, evolve, and excel as
valued and productive members of the FAMU faculty.