The NDSU Department of Mechanical Engineering will receive the 2015 ADVANCE FORWARD Department Award at the annual FORWARD Kick-Off event, scheduled for Friday, Oct. 2, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at the President’s House.
Register for the event at https://www.ndsu.edu/forward/.
The Commission on the Status of Women Faculty annually presents the ADVANCE FORWARD Department Award to recognize and reward significant department efforts to improve campus climate and gender equity within the faculty ranks. A review panel evaluated nominated departments through a weighted rubric reflecting FORWARD’s five target areas of climate, recruitment, retention, promotion and leadership.
Mechanical engineering is a male-dominated discipline with only 12.5 percent of bachelor's degrees awarded in 2012-13 going to women, compared to 19.1 percent in engineering overall. To promote a diverse employee population, employers of mechanical engineers have placed a priority on hiring more women. The NDSU Department of Mechanical Engineering recognizes the opportunity to benefit their industrial partners by providing a welcoming environment for female students. The department is committed to recruiting and retaining women faculty members. Since 2007, three women have been hired as assistant professors.
The department has addressed hurdles in balancing work and family responsibilities by adopting practices that provide schedule flexibility. Collaborative efforts within the department have enhanced faculty advancement through mentorships in teaching and service activities, and partnerships on research projects. These efforts have resulted in successful promotions with tenure for all three women faculty.
The review panel noted the department's equitable and positive climate as a factor in hiring, retaining and advancing female faculty. The panel specifically cited the department’s "concerted, genuine effort to accommodate faculty while ensuring that research and teaching productivity remain high" and efforts to provide the varied resources needed for success.
In preparation for next year's award, departments are encouraged to think about strategies, policies, practices and outcomes that show conscientious and systematic progress toward the five core FORWARD goals:
- Improve climate: practice strategies to improve the climate in the department and narrow the gap between men’s and women’s perceptions of campus climate.
- Enhance recruitment: employ strategies to recruit women, women of color and women with disabilities.
- Increase retention: apply strategies to retain women in the department through the probationary period and the promotion/tenure process.
- Promote and advance women: exercise strategies to support women associate professors as they advance to full professorship; in addition hire women at advanced ranks.
- Create leadership opportunities: execute strategies to promote women faculty to academic leadership positions.
The Commission on the Status of Women Faculty was created as part of NDSU’s ADVANCE FORWARD program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award HRD-0811239. NDSU ADVANCE FORWARD is committed to establishing a university culture in which all are nurtured and supported to develop to their fullest potential, and the criteria for success and achievement incorporate the unique skills and contributions of both men and women.
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