Provost Network > ADVANCE at WSU > Grants Funded 2010

Social Science Grants Funded Fall 2010

Proposal Title: Pro-Work Behaviors and Parenthood: An Analysis of STEM and Non-STEM Faculty

Principal Investigator: Julie Kmec, Associate Professor of Sociology, WSU

Project Overview and Connection with ADVANCE Initiatives
Cultural expectations of the “ideal” worker and the “ideal” mother are at odds. The “ideal” worker works long hours, is dedicated, and has few (if any) interruptions from home or childrearing. The “ideal” mother spends most of her time and emotional energy caring for children even if she has a professional career. By contrast, “ideal” workers and “ideal” fathers are a much better fit and a “good” father works to support his family. These different views of parenthood and job compatibility for women and men have implications for the employment outcomes and job rewards of mothers and fathers in academia. >More

Proposal Title: Measuring Impacts of Partner Accommodation Policies on Recruitment, Retention and Promotion of Female Faculty at WSU

Principal Investigator: Jill McCluskey, Professor, School of Economic Sciences, WSU (collaborating with Ben Cowan and Tori Byington)

Project Overview and Connection with ADVANCE Initiatives
Scholars have documented that women are under-represented on university faculties, especially in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines and at the Full Professor level. The American Association of University Professors’ Recommendations on Partner Accommodation (2010) argue that a lack of partner-accommodation policies may be having an undesirable effect on the careers of academic women. Washington State University has had such a policy in place for some time. In this proposed research, we seek to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of partner and spousal accommodation policies on WSU’s recruitment, retention, and promotion of academic women. This is part of a larger research agenda. >More

Proposal Title: Evaluating the Effects of the Budget Crisis and Economic Stress on the Performance and Retention of WSU Faculty

Principal Investigator: Tahira Probst, Professor of Psychology, WSU Vancouver

Project Overview and Connection with ADVANCE Initiatives
Detailed survey data were gathered from 61 chairs, 647 tenure track and non-tenure track faculty, and 1071 staff/AP employees at WSU in order to identify attitudinal, behavioral, and health-related outcomes of the repeated budget cuts and the process by which they were implemented. Additional analyses focused on the experiences of STEM faculty women. >More

Proposal Title: Faculty in STEM Departments: Creating a Culture to Foster Diversity

Principal Investigator: Kelly Ward, Professor, Educational Leadership and Counseling Psychology, WSU (collaborating with Briana Morrison)

Project Overview and Connection with ADVANCE Initiatives
Universities across the nation state goals of promoting diversity among the faculty ranks. The under-representation of women and certain minority groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is a well-documented concern. The concern is important, not just for the faculty ranks, but for the implications a diverse faculty can have on campus culture, the conduct of research, and student success. Department chairs play a leadership role in creating cultures of diversity to foster successful recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty at campus and departmental levels. Chairs are key to turning the tide of under-representation, yet the information to support this effort can seem unwieldy and focuses heavily on the process of the initial hire. >More