2016 Recognition and Networking Luncheon

This year’s Recognition and Networking Luncheon took place on August 18, 2016 to honor the contributions of Candis Claiborn, who served as the Dean of WSU Voiland College of engineering for 12 years, and as a co-PI of the ADVANCE NSF Institutional Transformation grant, as well as a long-time ADVANCE at WSU steering committee member. This was also an opportunity to review progress of ADVANCE at WSU endeavors, and to make plans for future trainings and workshops. Provost Bernardo offered an official welcome to start the event, discussing the importance of institutionalizing and continuing ADVANCE at WSU programs, making these available to underrepresented minority males from any discipline, along with women in STEM disciplines – the traditional target group for ADVANCE support. Provost Bernardo further commented on the importance of ADVANCE programs to WSU’s diversity related mission. He then spoke highly of Dr. Claiborn’s long-standing contributions to ADVANCE, the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture, as well as the WSU community at large. Candis Claiborn was awarded the “ADVANCE at WSU Recognition of Service and Leadership”, award for her dedication to enhancing inclusiveness and making WSU a more faculty-friendly institution.

The luncheon continued with the introduction of the External Mentor Pilot Extension program, aimed at supporting faculty who had already participated in the standard External Mentor option. This new program is being made available for the first time in the Fall, 2016 semester (Deadline October 16, 2016) and is intended to provide funds specifically to support pilot data collection efforts, enabling faculty and their mentors to prepare preliminary data for external grant funding applications. To learn about the base External Mentor Program, click here. External Mentor Pilot Extension program guidelines will be posted on the ADVANCE website shortly.

Jill McCluskey, SES Distinguished Professor of Sustainability School of Economic Sciences followed with a presentation titled: ““University Work-Life Policies and Implications for Representation of Female Faculty”, addressing issues related to the underrepresentation of women in STEM discipline faculty, especially at higher ranks. Work-Life programs to help support faculty through transitions, as well as availability of child-care were discussed, along with the issues faced by dual-career couples in academia. You can learn more about Jill McCluskey’s research HERE. The luncheon wrapped up with some informal discussion regarding the future directions, and networking, of course!

The material on this site is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. 0810927. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

ADVANCE at WSU Lighty Building, Room 190F P.O. Box 644820 Pullman, WA 99164 509-335-9739 Contact Us