With help from the NDSU ADVANCE FORWARD program, 53 percent of faculty promoted to associate professor in the last three years were women. During the same time frame, 40 percent of faculty promoted to full professor were women.
NDSU is committed to inclusion and gender equity.
The university’s ADVANCE FORWARD (Focus on Resources for Women's Advancement, Recruitment/Retention, and Development) Faculty Initiatives for Gender Equity include an array of campuswide activities focused on gender parity and equity, with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics women faculty.
"The ADVANCE program at NDSU continues to support policy changes and provides ongoing professional development events that prioritize an intersectional approach to promoting gender equity policies and practices,” said Canan Bilen-Green, vice provost for faculty and equity. "The program has changed campus conversations regarding gender equity."
Since receiving its first National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant in 2008, NDSU was awarded additional grants in 2015, 2019 and 2020.
Among the program’s many initiatives are the Aspire Alliance, ADVANCE Partnership, ADVOCATE FORWARD, ADVANCE FORWARD, AccessADVANCE, Promotion to Professor Task Force, ADVANCE Midwest Partnership and Commission on the Status of Women Faculty.
"A signature approach to gender equity developed through the initial and subsequent grants is the Advocates and Allies program that prepares and supports campus men, in consultation with campus women, to act for gender equity within their offices or departments," Bilen-Green said.
The efforts are paying off, and NDSU has made a great deal of progress. In last three years, 53 percent of faculty promoted to associate professor were women. During the same time frame, 40 percent of faculty promoted to full professor were women.
In addition, from 2002-2015, the percentage of women full professors at NDSU increased from 5 percent to 15 percent. Since the first ADVANCE award in 2008, the overall representation of tenure-line women faculty increased from 26 percent to 34 percent, and women full professors increased from 7 percent to 23 percent.
That progress means good things for students, providing a broader perspective and an enriched educational experience.
“Faculty members serve as role models that shape the goals and expectations of students.,” said Bilen-Green. “Underrepresentation of women faculty members affect students critical relationships with mentors and participation in STEM.”
The work of the ADVANCE program is supported by engagement in academic departments across the NDSU campus. ADVANCE awards have supported faculty, administrators and staff in addressing institutional practices and policies that foster a welcoming, inclusive and equitable campus.