Adaptations for Sustainable Policies and Increased Recruitment Excellence in Diversity (ASPIRED)

Message from the Principal Investigator, Dr. Esra Ozdenerol

We would like to take a moment to reflect on the progress we have made in addressing the challenges of gender equity, implicit bias, isolation, ambiguity and inequality in career advancement.

Through our implemented programs, we have been able to create a more inclusive and welcoming environment for women in STEM. We have tackled the issue of implicit bias by providing STRIDE training workshops and a STRIDE handbook to help individuals recognize their own biases and work to overcome them. Through our Integrate Grants, we have been able to reduce the inequality in career advancement by providing support to STEM women whose research activity has been impacted by a life event. We have also worked to reduce ambiguity in career advancement by providing mentorship and guidance, helping women navigate the often complex and uncertain path to success in STEM. Our initiatives, including Department Climate Improvement Grants and the STEM speaker series, that foster collaboration and networking have helped to address the problem of isolation by providing opportunities for women to connect with others in their field and build valuable relationships. 

Student Worker Needed

Advertised Title: Student Worker

Category: Staff (Hourly) $15/hr.

Minimum Position Qualifications: Relevant experience in editing, proofreading and writing. Proficient in Microsoft Word.

Preferred skills: Knowledge of Excel and Qualtrics. Ability to edit websites.

Work Schedule: 10 hrs. a week, Monday–Friday, hours vary and may need to work beyond normal work schedule.

Additional Working Conditions: This position will be remote with some in-person meetings/events.

Special Instructions to Applicants: To apply, please send your resume and cover letter to Mekensie Ivy at mmivy@memphis.edu.

Graduate Research Assistant Needed

Advertised Title: Graduate Student Research Assistant

Category: Staff (Hourly) 

Minimum Position Qualifications: Relevant experience in data analysis, statistical software and Qualtrics. Experience in reporting and document editing preferred.

We are especially interested in candidates with knowledge in ArcGIS, Survey123, Story Maps and website development. GIS and Data analysis skills with ability to perform multi analyses using SPSS as well as assist with qualitative analysis.

Work Schedule: 20 hrs. a week, Monday–Friday, hours vary and may need to work beyond normal work schedule.

Hiring Range: Tuition plus stipend for the academic year.

Start Month: August

Special Instructions to Applicants: To apply, please send your resume and cover letter to Mekensie Ivy at mmivy@memphis.edu.

STRIDE Workshops

STRIDE (Strategies and Tactics for Recruiting to Improve Diversity and Excellence) Workshops are an hour-long, peer-to-peer interactive workshop intended for search committees to learn about best practices to ensure a fair and equitable search process. Our STRIDE committee consists of seven members (Dr. Esra Ozdenerol, Dr. Kristoffer Berlin, Dr. Joel Bumgardner, Dr. Amy Curry, Dr. Chrysanthe Preza, Dr. Firouzeh Sabri and Dr. Laura Taylor).

Over the course of five workshops, we have trained and certified 61 faculty members on how to conduct a fair and equitable search process.

We will be scheduling a STRIDE Workshop in March. Invitations will be sent by email, or you can check our website for available times.

Meet Our STRIDE Team

Esra Ozdenerol
Earth Sciences
Committee Chair

Kristoffer Scott Berlin
Psychology

Joel Bumgardner
Biomedical Engineering

Amy de Jongh Curry
Biomedical Engineering

Chrysanthe Preza
Electrical and Computer Engineering

Firouzeh Sabri
Physics and Materials Science

Laura C. Taylor
School of Social Work

STEM Women Story Map

We would like to invite STEM women faculty, instructors, post-doctoral and graduate students, to participate in the STEM Women Story Map, an exciting new online resource that maps the locations and research interests of women in STEM. This innovative tool will allow us to connect with each other, showcase our work and inspire the next generation of women in STEM.

By participating in the STEM Women Story Map, you will have the opportunity to add your own location, research interests, lab information, photos, videos and other relevant information. This will help us to build a rich and dynamic resource that reflects the diversity and breadth of expertise within our community.

We believe that this resource will be an invaluable tool for connecting with other women in STEM, promoting collaboration and raising awareness of the important work that we do. We encourage you to take part in this exciting initiative and help us to build a powerful and dynamic resource that celebrates the achievements of women in STEM.

To participate, simply follow the link to the STEM Women Story Map and fill in your information. If you have any questions or need assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Thank you for your participation and we look forward to seeing you on the map!

Interactive Theatre Sketches

The Tiger Lilly Collective (TLC) theatre troupe has achieved significant accomplishments in its efforts to promote awareness of gender and implicit biases through its thought-provoking and engaging performances.

Through performances at chair's, director's and dean's meetings, the TLC has educated audiences on the ways in which gender and implicit biases play out in their own lives. By using common scenarios, the TLC has been able to demonstrate how these biases can have a real impact on the experiences and opportunities of women in the workplace and beyond.

The impact of the TLC's performances has been far-reaching, with many audiences reporting that they have gained a new perspective on these issues and a greater awareness of the ways in which they can work to address them. The troupe has been recognized for its outstanding contributions to the field of gender equity and has received numerous accolades and positive feedback.

In addition to the performances, the TLC has also been actively involved in community outreach and education. The executive director, Dr. Esra Ozdenerol, and theater director, Dr. Holly Derr, plan to conduct workshops and seminars on gender and implicit biases for a variety of organizations, and will work to promote awareness of these issues in the broader community.

Overall, the accomplishments of the Tiger Lilly Collective are a testament to the power of the arts in promoting social change and advancing gender equity. We applaud their efforts and look forward to seeing the impact they will continue to make in the future.

Here are the links to the sketches:
Department Climate Sketch
Tenure & Promotion Sketch

Department Climate Improvement Grants

In Spring 2021, the ASPIRED team conducted department climate surveys and introduced the Department Climate Improvement Grant to all STEM departments to implement climate improvement projects. Examples of activities proposed by the departments include, but are not limited to, symposia or series, search committee training, bias awareness and reduction training, capacity building and networking. These interventions will focus on helping to create climates that are inclusive and responsive to the needs of women and URM faculty — potentially reducing feelings of isolation and reducing hostility and discrimination based on gender and/or minority status. We awarded $1,000 annual grants to the following departments to improve department climate:

Department Climate Workshops

Department climate improvement workshops have had a tremendously positive impact on bias awareness and the creation of more inclusive and responsive climates for women and underrepresented minority faculty in STEM departments. These workshops provide a unique opportunity for faculty members to engage in important discussions and activities that help them better understand the challenges facing their colleagues and to work together to create a more equitable and inclusive environment.

One of the most valuable aspects of these workshops is the opportunity for participants to engage in bias awareness and reduction training. Through this training, faculty members are able to recognize their own biases and work to reduce the impact on their interactions with colleagues. This helps to create a more supportive and inclusive environment that is better able to respond to the needs of women and underrepresented minorities.

Through ASPIRED's Department Climate Grants, CERI was able to bring in a female speaker to mentor female graduate students. This provided a great impact to the female students because CERI currently has no female faculty members.

Other important aspects of department climate improvement workshops are the capacity building and networking opportunities they provide. Through speaker series, skill-building workshops and other activities, faculty members are able to develop new skills and build valuable professional networks that can help them advance their careers and overcome the challenges they face.

STEM departments that create their own groups to bring experts to conduct workshops on climate improvement are able to tailor their efforts to the specific needs of their faculty members. This allows departments to address the unique challenges facing their own community and to develop targeted strategies for promoting equity and inclusion.

The Mathematics Department invited two distinguished female Mathematician/Statisticians to visit the department as Colloquium Speakers, and potential research collaborators with their faculty and graduate students. The two speakers were: 

• Professor Mahlet Tadesee, Chair, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Georgetown University
• Professor Tanya Garcia, Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina, Chapel-Hill.

Overall, the impact of department climate improvement workshops on bias awareness and the creation of more inclusive and responsive climates for women and underrepresented minority faculty in STEM departments cannot be overstated. By providing opportunities for faculty members to engage in important discussions and activities, these workshops are helping to create a more equitable and supportive environment for all members of the academic community.

Welcome Packet

The welcome packet provides new employees with resources such as getting started on campus, development opportunities, childcare, navigating Memphis and more.

STEM Speaker Series

Our STEM speaker series continues to be a great success. In the Fall semester, we hosted Dr. Maria Hubbard, who spoke on Women in Leadership, and Dr. Alfred Hall, who spoke on Career Advancement through Grant Development.

Previous speakers and topics have included:

• Dr. Melissa McDaniel spoke on STEM Mentoring
• Dr. Lisa Wolf-Wendel spoke on Work-Life-Family Balance
• Dr. Robin Selinger spoke on Strategies for Success in Academic STEM careers
• Dr. Terri Reed spoke on Diversity, Equity and Implicit Bias
• Dr. Jill Sible spoke on Inclusive Learning Experiences for Student Success in STEM

The STEM Speaker series provided mentors and mentees participating in the UM-Connect Mentoring program the opportunity to connect with one another and develop professionally. Our speakers are broadcast through Zoom to live and virtual audiences. You can find the recordings here.

Mentoring

In fall 2022, the mentoring program welcomed Drs. Elena Delavega, Leah Windsor, Susan Neely-Barnes and Chrysanthe Preza as mentors and Drs. Rui Qi, Ana Doblas, Deranda Lester, Deb Leslie, Misty Freeman and Yuan Gao as mentees.

The members participate in a four-week, four-module self-paced training where mentors and mentees will develop competencies to engage in an effective, culturally responsive mentoring relationship while improving STEM self-efficacy and identity. These training modules are available through Canvas to mentors and mentees who are accepted into the program and consist of collaborative discussions and problem-based scenarios to socialize both the mentors and mentees to the peer mentoring process. 

Mentors and mentees both showed a higher satisfaction rating with their career goal progress, professional development opportunities, promotion opportunities and a sense of STEM community after participating in the mentoring program.

Integrate Grants

UM Integrate has awarded grants that support faculty in research, professional development and/or work-family integration. The grants were awarded to Dr. Anzhelika Antipova from the Earth Science Department, Dr. Amy Shannon Cook from Computer Science, Dr. Deborah Leslie from Earth Science, Dr. Deranda Lester from Psychology and Dr. Aaryani Sajja from Biomedical Engineering.

Dr. Anzhelika Antipova

Dr. Amy Shannon Cook

Dr. Aaryani Sajja

Dr. Deranda Lester

Dr. Deborah Leslie

Dual-Career Services

The Dual-Career Policy Taskforce works with the Provost's Office and Human Resources to formalize recommendations for programs and policies related to dual-family career services.

The Faculty Senate has approved the improvement of the current policies to accommodate a dual-career assistance program to aid in prospective partner placement. 

Final Thoughts

While there is still much work to be done to achieve true gender equity in STEM, we are proud of the progress we have made and the positive impact we have had on the lives and careers of women in this field. We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who has contributed to this project, and we look forward to continuing this important work in the future, sustain our programs and institutionalize them.