Project Initiatives
The implementation of ASPIRE2 synergistically aligns with other initiatives at UT Dallas aimed at increase diversity, equity and inclusion. Specifically, the University’s five-year plan presented in 2018 specifies attracting diverse talent and examining University culture as critical issues that need to be addressed for UT Dallas to continue its upward trajectory. In 2020, UT Dallas President Richard C. Benson announced the formation of the Living Our Values Task Force to focus on systemic racism, inherent bias, equity, diversion, access and inclusion in the campus community.
While progress is being made at UT Dallas in hiring women into tenured and tenure-track and senior leadership positions, there is much work to do, and ASPIRE2 is central to that work. Creating initiatives around the three ASPIRE2 pillars of climate, identification and recruitment activities, and retention are among the most meaningful and impactful ways to help UT Dallas expand and enrich the diversity of faculty in STEM fields and beyond.