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The ADVANCE team creates a variety of resources and tools to help our faculty and campus leadership transform our institution by cultivating faculty equity, inclusion and success. We developed each two-page tool by culling best-practices from our research findings and workshops, and with input from our faculty and campus leaders.
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Publication Solving Workload Inequities: Policies and Practice(2024) Misra, Joya; Culpepper, Dawn; Jaeger, Audrey J.; OMeara, KerryAnnIn “Getting Started with Faculty Workload Equity,” we explained how to identify workload inequities and concretize those challenges for departments. Here, we identify strategies for building policies and practices that effectively target those inequities. Solving workload inequities is not easy, but it is possible.Publication Getting Started with Faculty Workload Equity(2024) Misra, Joya; Culpepper, Dawn; Jaeger, Audrey J.; OMeara, KerryAnnMany faculty members and administrators think that making faculty workloads more fair isn't possible, suggesting it is a can of worms best left closed. Given the autonomy many faculty members have over their work, some see workload equity as an individual-level problem, explained by poor choices and/or time management. Yet, workload reflects structural patterns of exclusion in the kinds of academic work that are valued. As such, workload should be viewed as a matter of equity, since seemingly neutral processes (like how workload is assigned) contribute to persistent inequalities. Workload equity, moreover, must be viewed not as a single destination, but as a designed and supported set of expectations. This tool is the first in a series designed to help departments create more equitable workloads.Publication Research Collaboration Best Practices(2020-01-01) Misra, JoyaTime is a critical resource necessary to creating new collaborations. Faculty members need opportunities to interact, informally as well as formally, to develop ideas, and work well together. Developing shared language is especially necessary for interdisciplinary collaborations. Equity can be challenging; collaborations may appear “predatory,” with unequal involvement in the research, or unfair recognition of time and effort in PI/co-PI roles or in authorship. Collabora-tions should fairly credit researchers for the work they do, regardless of rank, gender, race, etc. Inclusion is another key approach. This matters both in collaborators treating each other’s insights with respect, and identifying the contributions diverse collaborators can make. Intellectual and demographic diversity is likely to lead to greater creativity and insight. Good communication and trust characterize the most successful research teams. While funding opportunities sometimes require developing new collaborations speedily, teams that have already developed strategies for working together effectively are more likely to win funding.Publication Seed Funding Checklist(2021-01-01)Best practices for seed grant administrators start with dissemination of information about the program. It is important from the outset to consider the goals of the program and how you will evaluate those goals.Publication Seed Funding Effective Practices(2021-01-01) Clark, DessieSeed funding supports the preliminary work necessary to build competitive proposals for external funding or to provide an avenue to conduct exploratory research that may lead to new research initiatives. This work includes data collection and proof of concept. Yet, building an equitable, synergistic collaborative team that can provide breadth of technical expertise strengthens the likelihood of the team’s success, as well as the broader impacts/societal relevance of the research, which is important for follow-on funding. Seed funding provides important resources that can be used to help create a more equitable research climate by allowing a wide range of faculty to gain experience and demonstrate effectiveness in leading research, collaborating with colleagues, and managing students. While the dollar amount of seed funding and scope of work may vary across internal opportunities, equitable practices for awarding seed funds are important in every case.Publication Resources for Equitable Research Collaborations: What to Consider in Proposing and Conducting Research(2021-01-01)There are many important considerations for collaborations. Collaborations involve teams of different personalities, often approaching the project from different disciplines and backgrounds. Misunderstandings and disagreements could disrupt the collaborative process. Successful collaborations often share key characteristics that help ensure members of the team are working well together. These include: Commitment to stated shared research goals and values for the project and collaboration. Respectful and equitable environment in which each voice, intellectual input, and direction of the project, or specific components of the project is valued. Trust, physical and psychological safety, and mutual respect must be present among all members of the collaboration. Openness and transparency about team member and the project’s progress, challenges that may occur, financial issues, etc. Agreed upon processes for professional communication in person, via email, and in virtual environments. For interdisciplinary teams – clarity about disciplinary frameworks and terminology, clear and precise interactions, particularly for multinational teams—mapping out how all are accommodated All members should take responsibility for individual work and feel ownership for the success of the overall project such that the project contributes to intellectual and career growth for all.Publication Shared Decision Making Best Practices(2020-01-01) Misra, JoyaThere are many potential topics for shared decision-making in departments. Some of the most common, and most challenging, include: Recommending faculty hires to Dean Suggesting Chair appointments to Dean Adopting/amending bylaws Tenure and promotion deliberation process Electing faculty to committees Changing curricula Recommending office space/lab allocations Merit deliberations Faculty can be involved in many other different kinds of decisions, such as identifying speakers to invite to campus, student awards, ensuring faculty and student success, and other activities.Publication Creating Diverse Departments: Best Practices(2020-01-01) Wingfield, Adia Harvey; Misra, JoyaCurrently, most universities have relatively limited diversity. The National Center for Education Statistics shows that in 2018, more than two thirds of all university faculty are white, 10% are Asian and Pacific Islanders, 5% are Latinx, 1% are Multiracial, .4% are Indigenous and 5.5% are Black. Black and Latinx faculty are particularly underrepresented among STEM fields.Publication Pandemic Impact Statement Template(2021-01-01)This pandemic impact statement template, which relates to the UMass ADVANCE Documenting Pandemic Impacts tool, provides templates that faculty can use in creating their pandemic statements. The goal is to cut the time spent writing these statements, while providing examples for how to write, short, clear statements. It is important to note that pandemic impact statements are voluntary, and faculty can decide whether to include them on AFRs, for internal audiences for personnel cases, and/or for external audiences for personnel cases.Publication UMass Amherst DPC Pandemic Impact Statement for Sociologists(2020-01-01) Smith-Doerr, Laurel; Gupta, Sanjiv; Pachucki, Mark; Sharone, Ofer; Thayer, MillicentThis is a sample departmental level pandemic impact statement from the department of sociology at UMass Amherst.Publication Ten Questions to Ask Your Chair/Colleagues in Your First Year as a New Faculty Member(2023-01-01)Ten questions to ask your chair or colleagues in your first year as a new faculty member.Publication Creating Equitable Research Collaborations(2023-01-01) Misra, Joya; Mickey, Ethel L.; Normanly, Jennifer; Smith-Doerr, LaurelThis tool–Creating equitable research collaborations–is part 1 of a three tool series for embedding equity into all phases of research collaboration. See also Continuing equitable collaborative relationships (part 2) and Crediting collaboration equitably (part 3).Publication Equitable Research Collaborations Between Faculty & Grad Students(2021-01-01) Clark, DessieSuccessful collaborations often share key characteristics that help ensure members of the team are working well together, that all members are treated equitably, and are striving toward common goals. These include: Recognition of, and adjustment for, power differentials in the collaboration (these power differentials could be based on rank, gender, race, or other group dynamics). For example, setting up team meetings so that everyone has a turn to speak. Trust and safety (mental and physical), particularly for those who may be more vulnerable in the collaboration. Trust builds over time, and teams can begin with an agreement to keep all team conversations confidential. Setting common goals and having common values. Having a living document to articulate the goals of the particular collaboration may be helpful to structure this conversation. Striving toward and maintaining an equitable environment in which each voice, intellectual input, and direction is valued. The rich communication of an equitable collaboration may mean that more time needs to be allocated to synchronous meetings so that everyone can take a turn contributing ideas. Being transparent about the project’s progress, challenges that may occur, financial issues (particularly if they have implications for personnel funding), etc. This transparency includes conversations about stipend and benefits and how different projects may impact for the financial support of graduate students. Being clear is kind. Communication with each other and agreed upon process (e.g., expectations for response time) for professional communication in person, via email, in virtual environments. Quality of communication is more important than quantity. Honesty about limitations on time and resources is key to establishing boundaries for the collaboration. Consideration of (a) working style (b) research fit and (c) personality match. Sometimes collaborations do not ‘click’ and that is okay. Setting a time frame for a trial period to see whether or not the collaboration will work can be useful if everyone agrees to it. If a trial has funding implications, this should be openly discussed.Publication Centering Equity in Limited Submissions(2023-01-01) Clark, DessieLimited submissions are funding opportunities in which the funder has limited the number of applications from an organization. These opportunities may be from federal or state sponsors, corporations, or foundations. This tool covers effective practices for centering equity ih limited submission processes at the applicant organization.Publication Continuing Research Collaboration Relationships(2023-01-01) Mickey, Ethel L.; Misra, Joya; Normanly, Jennifer; Smith-Doerr, LaurelThis tool–Continuing equitable research collaboration relationships–is part 2 of a three tool series for embedding equity into all phases of research collaboration. See also Creating equitable research collaborations (part 1) and Crediting collaboration equitably (part 3).Publication Crediting Collaboration Equitably(2023-01-01) Smith-Doerr, Laurel; Mickey, Ethel L.; Misra, Joya; Normanly, JenniferThis tool–Crediting collaboration equitably–is part 3 of a three-tool series for embedding equity into all phases of research collaboration. See also Creating equitable research collaborations (part 1) and Continuing equitable collaboration relationships (part 2).Publication Setting the Stage for Equitable Faculty Shared Decision-Making(2022-01-01) Kanelee, Ember Skye W.; Mickey, Ethel L.; Smith-Doerr, LaurelThe most consequential decisions regarding faculty careers are decided collectively by peers, including tenure, promotions, and annual merit pay raises. The shared decision making inherent in faculty governance is a type of collaboration that faculty experience in unequal ways. While most departments have formal procedures and written policies, academia remains dominated by informal ways of functioning that allow gender and racial inequalities to persist. UMass ADVANCE survey results indicate that women faculty are less clear on personnel processes than men, and women faculty members from underrepresented racial minority groups are the least clear on tenure and promotion processes. Women faculty are often uncertain about their next career steps. Creating equitable practices around shared decision-making will improve transparency and trust among colleagues, supporting the inclusion and retention of women faculty and faculty of color, especially those at junior ranks. How can governance be reinvented to be more equitable for women faculty and faculty of color?Publication Equitable Faculty Evaluation Practices(2023-01-01) Mitchneck, Beth; Misra, JoyaFaculty evaluation is central to universities, but many strategies for evaluating faculty reflect gender and racial biases. These biases in evaluation help explain the lack of progress most academic institutions have made toward greater representation and inclusion. This makes it urgent for universities to create more equitable review procedures. It is also important to remember that faculty evaluation is a continual process, and not simply a set of discrete, formal, evaluative events. Thus, to improve evaluation of faculty, we need to target how we evaluate faculty in formal and informal ways. The good news is that relatively simple changes in process and practice can enhance equity and inclusion in faculty evaluation.Publication Chairs Checklist for Shared Decision Making(2022-01-01) Kanelee, Ember Skye W.; Mickey, Ethel L.; Smith-Doerr, LaurelUMass ADVANCE survey results indicate that women faculty are less clear on personnel processes than men, and women faculty members from underrepresented racial minority groups are the least clear on tenure and promotion processes. This checklist is for department chairs/heads to assess departmental shared decision-making and create equitable practices that will support the inclusion and retention of women faculty and faculty of color.Publication Equitable Evaluation During COVID(2021-01-01) Misra, JoyaEvaluating faculty must evolve, given that faculty experiences have differed during the pandemic. Yet, faculty need an opportunity to document their contributions and achievements, as well as the pandemic-related limitations they have experienced. The goal is to enter this information into the record in a way that recognizes how each faculty member’s workload (how much they were doing in different areas) and work context (where and how they did their work) have differed due to the pandemic, and that allows the university to account for the pandemic’s long-term effects. Memories are short. When faculty are evaluated years down the road, the constraints they operated under must be recognized.