ASPIRE2 Project Advances Equity for Female STEM Faculty

The first year of the University of Texas at Dallas ASPIRE2 project, funded by an ADVANCE grant from the National Science Foundation, has made progress toward increasing opportunities for women and women of color in STEM fields at the University.

ASPIRE2 — an acronym for Adapting Successful Practices to foster an Inclusive, Respectful and Equitable Environment — is a three-year project built to create an inclusive and diverse climate, expand recruitment activities that result in more women and women in underrepresented minority groups in applicant pools, and retain and further develop our current female faculty.

In the first year of ASPIRE2, our accomplishments have set a benchmark for universities seeking to increase opportunities for women and women in underrepresented groups in STEM:

  • The new Advocates and Allies program consists of senior male faculty members who support an inclusive, respectful and equitable climate for women on our campus.
  • The Liaisons program counsels faculty recruits on race and gender equity, and trains search chairs to ensure equitable hiring practices.
  • Five mentoring grants of up to $1,500 were awarded to women faculty members to help them establish relationships with mentors outside of the University. A new set of similar grants will be awarded in January.
  • The Spring 2022 University Climate Survey provided guidance to further support diversity and equity efforts and develop training for deans and department and program heads.
  • The new Office for Faculty Mentoring supports expanded mentoring activity across the University.
  • Events from the On-Ramps Program and Future Faculty Identification Program helped to recruit qualified women in STEM fields from industry and government to our faculty.
  • Workshops for Advocates and Allies helped senior male faculty develop strategies for serving as effective Advocates and Allies for female faculty and for creating an inclusive campus environment.

The following activities are underway or forthcoming:

  • The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will train all search committee members in order to ensure diversity and equity in faculty recruitment and selection practices.
  • The University and each School will create Equity Dashboards summarizing data on faculty demographics and faculty climate perceptions.
  • STRIDE (Stepping up Recruitment and Diversifying Excellence) Recruitment Grants of up to $1,500 for search committees will be awarded to support the recruitment of women and women in underrepresented groups into applicant pools.
  • The new Women in STEM employee resource group will start a speakers’ program this fall.
  • Increased promotion and tenure workshops will be offered across the University.

The NSF’s ADVANCE program is charged with contributing to the development of a more diverse science and engineering workforce by increasing the representation of women in academic science and engineering careers.