Guidelines

ADVANCE PROGRAM GOAL

The ADVANCE program is designed to enhance policies and practices affecting the recruitment, selection, promotion, and transition of women faculty in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) so that female scholars will:

• Be appropriately represented in all STEM departments.
• Advance through the faculty ranks and into leadership positions.
• Reflect the diversity of the UMBC student body.

PURPOSE OF THE ADVANCE RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIP PROGRAM

The purpose of the ADVANCE Research Assistantship (RA) Program at UMBC is to:

• Ensure the success of STEM faculty, particularly women, who are moving through the tenure, promotion, and advancement process at UMBC.
• Support faculty who have a proven track record of advancing women faculty at UMBC in STEM, or who have a detailed plan to advance women faculty in STEM in the immediate future.

PROGRAM BENEFITS

The ADVANCE RA Program will award up to eight RA positions per year. Each award will support one full-time RA position, preferably a Ph.D. student, to support the research activities of the faculty member for 12 months beginning at the start of the academic year. This funding may only be used to support those graduate students who are in good academic standing.

The RA position will include:

• Salary support for one graduate student compatible with departmental stipends.
• Tuition remission for up to 10 credits and UMBC health insurance.

The equivalent of this funding can be used to support a postdoctoral Research Associate in conjunction with some other source of funding. Awards are not renewable.

CRITERIA OF ELIGIBILITY

Eligible applicants include STEM faculty

• who have a proven track record of advancing women faculty in the STEM fields, or
• who have a detailed plan to advance women faculty in the STEM fields in the immediate future.

Please note, the focus of this criterion is female faculty not students.

Within this group, priority will be given to:

• Junior faculty who are nearing their tenure review and whose likelihood of achieving tenure would be significantly enhanced by the ADVANCE RA Position.
• Associate professors who are nearing promotion to full professor and whose likelihood of achieving promotion would be significantly enhanced by the ADVANCE RA Position.
• Faculty who can demonstrate that they carry a larger service burden than their peers.
• Faculty who would like to transition to leadership roles within the university administration.
• In extraordinary circumstances this funding may be used as bridge support for a current faculty member. Please contact the ADVANCE Program Director for details.

APPLICATION PROCESS

In order to be considered for the ADVANCE RA Program, please submit a completed application along with a letter of support from the Chair of your Department and a llist of your most recent publications (not to exceed 10) to the ADVANCE Program Director, Mary Ellen Jackson (address below).

The application deadline is 5:00 p.m., Monday, May 7, 2007.

SELECTION

A committee of faculty and staff selected by the ADVANCE Executive Committee and committed to and knowledgeable of issues associated with gender equity in STEM will review all applications and will select those faculty who meet the criterion of eligibility. Of those who meet the criterion, the choice will be based upon the greatest impact the award will have on their career. Decisions will be announced within one month of the application deadline.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF RECIPIENTS

Recipients, both the faculty member and the student, supported by this funding are required to participate in ADVANCE activities during the funding period including but not limited to:

o Faculty ADVANCEment Workshops (faculty member only)
o ADVANCE Distinguished Speaker Series
o Faculty Horizons Workshop

The faculty recipient must provide a one-page summary of the work that was accomplished with the funding from this award and the impact it had on advancing your career. Recipients will be contacted at the end of the Academic Year for this report.

Mary Ellen Jackson
ADVANCE Program Director
Office of the President
410-455-8037
advance@umbc.edu