The FORWARD project and the Advocates group have selected nine faculty men to join the current group of Advocates. The newly appointed Advocates include Cristinel Ababei, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering; Robert Gordon, associate professor of psychology; Sivaguru Jayaraman, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry; Scott Pryor, assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering; Mukund Sibi, Distinguished Professor of chemistry and biochemistry; David Silkenat, assistant professor of history and education; Chanchai Tangpong, associate professor of management and marketing; Chad Ulven, associate professor of mechanical engineering; and Erxi Wu, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences.
The Advocates will offer training for faculty men who want to serve as Allies. Training is scheduled for Oct. 11 and Nov. 9 (for the College of Engineering and Architecture). Registration is requested and registration information can be found on the FORWARD website at www.ndsu.edu/forward.
As part of their application to become a FORWARD Advocate, faculty men were asked to identify reasons why they wanted to serve in the role. The responses offered a range of perspectives and motivations for their interest and commitment to be involved in this way in the FORWARD project. The reasons included:
· “I am committed to equality at NDSU (for example, I am currently an Advance FORWARD Ally and a Safe Zone ally, and have attended several FORWARD seminars in the past) and want to help create an environment in which female faculty, staff and students are supported and valued.”
· “The recent controversy over the availability of childcare on campus and the university's role in supporting female faculty have clarified for me some of the issues facing female faculty on campus.”
· “I understand the challenges they [female colleagues] encounter with both family and professional responsibilities, more so than typical male counterparts. I am genuinely committed in supporting them. In today's knowledge society and our knowledge-intensive profession, I personally believe in gender equality and fully support it.”
· “Two female students recently joined my group and I would like to provide them with the correct environment to succeed and to become future leaders. One of the best ways to accomplish this goal is to get myself involved with the FORWARD program, so that I can learn and equip myself with the necessary knowledge pertaining to the issues faced by female students and faculty. To work toward this goal, I am currently enrolled as a FORWARD Ally.”
A complete list of FORWARD Advocates and FORWARD Allies is available at
www.ndsu.edu/forward/people/
advocates_and_allies/.