"WMU ADVANCE Joining Forces"; professor and student working in lab

WMU ADVANCE

The NSF ADVANCE program is intended to build a more diverse and capable science and engineering workforce by broadening the implementation of evidence-based systemic change strategies that promote equity for STEM faculty in academic workplaces and the academic profession. The NSF ADVANCE program provides grants to enhance the systemic factors that support equity and inclusion and to mitigate the systemic factors that create inequities in the academic profession and workplaces.

National Science Foundation logo

ADVANCE Midwest Partnership - Joining Forces

The ADVANCE Midwest Partnership - Joining Forces is a cross-institutional effort of four research-intensive, doctoral-granting public universities (Iowa State University, Michigan Technological University, North Dakota State University and Western Michigan University) funded by the NSF Advance program to promote increased equity, diversity, and faculty retention and career advancement of faculty in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.

The partnership, which is supported by a three-year, $996,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, will focus in particular on faculty with two key intersectional identities: (1) underrepresented gender and ethnicity and (2) underrepresented gender and family responsibilities. The goal of the partnership is to implement and assess institutional systemic change strategies that include the development of cross-institutional mentoring communities, male advocates and allies training, department chair professional development, and a cross-institutional women’s caucus.