Equity-Minded Faculty Workloads by Design
Dr. KerryAnn O’Meara presented via Zoom on Tuesday, November 30, 2021
For access to materials from this presentation, please contact ndsu.provost@ndsu.edu. 

The unequal distribution of faculty workload is one of the most important, yet least talked about, inequities that shape the experiences of faculty members within colleges and universities. As a result of the pandemic, faculty workloads are growing, and growing more inequitable. In particular, women faculty and faculty from historically minoritized identities face unusually high service, teaching, and mentoring workloads. Inclusion and equity require departments and institutions to identify and dismantle systems that maintain unequal workloads and avoid longer time to advancement, higher stress, increased burnout, and greater willingness to leave for women and BIPOC faculty.

In this talk, KerryAnn O’Meara, PI of the NSF, Faculty Workload and Rewards Project and co-author of a ACE report and set of resources shares what she learned with colleagues during a five-year, action research project aimed at promoting equity in how faculty labor is taken up, assigned, and rewarded. She considers how workload inequities emerge in "discretionary spaces," and the evidence-based policies and practices departments have used to identify inequalities, assess faculty and university needs, and re-design workload with equity in mind.

KerryAnn O’Meara is Professor of Higher Education and a Distinguished Scholar Teacher at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research examines faculty careers and academic rewards systems with a particular focus on organizational practices that support and limit the full participation of women and BIPOC faculty. Current NSF-funded projects examine equity in hiring, workload, promotion and tenure policy reform, and equity-minded reform of discretionary spaces in academic affairs. An internationally recognized expert on diversity and inclusion in faculty affairs, KerryAnn has completed both longitudinal and randomized control trials on faculty retention and workload reform projects, showing positive results from evidence based interventions. She is a sought after speaker, consultant, and partner on reforms to make academe more inclusive for women, faculty of historically minoritized identities, and scholars engaged in newer forms of scholarship. She consults with universities on promotion and tenure policy reform, faculty development programs, and organizational practices that sustain equitable workloads.