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Using Data to Drive Institutional Change: University of Delaware ADVANCE Institute Research on Faculty Women of Color

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Conference

2018 CoNECD - The Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity Conference

Location

Crystal City, Virginia

Publication Date

April 29, 2018

Start Date

April 29, 2018

End Date

May 2, 2018

Conference Session

Faculty Track - Technical Session III

Tagged Topic

Faculty

Page Count

19

DOI

10.18260/1-2--29591

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/29591

Download Count

405

Paper Authors

biography

Shawna Vican University of Delaware

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Shawna Vican is the Director of the UD ADVANCE Institute and holds a secondary appointment as an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Harvard University. An organizational sociologist, Dr. Vican investigates the adoption and implementation of new employment practices and corporate social behaviors. Across her research, Dr. Vican explores how organizational policies and practices, managerial behavior, and workplace culture shape individual career outcomes as well as broader patterns of labor market inequality. Her current research includes a qualitative study of corporate diversity management strategies and a series of mixed-methods projects on diversity in the academic workforce.

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Abstract

One of the goals of the University of Delaware (UD) ADVANCE Institute is to improve departmental microclimates and institutional support for women STEM faculty, with a particular focus on women of color. The UD ADVANCE team takes a data driven approach to understanding the experiences of faculty women of color on campus, employing a combination of social science research, institutional data, and evaluation. Using mixed methods, we find these women face particular structural barriers and report distinct experiences both within their departments and more broadly as faculty at the university. Cohort analysis results reveal gender differences in promotion and retention rates, particularly among women of color, while climate survey analyses and interviews about faculty satisfaction reveal faculty of color perceive departmental climates as less positive than peers across multiple dimensions. Through interviews with departing faculty, as well as faculty negotiating retention packages, we clarify additional factors affecting faculty of color retention. In this paper, we (1) discuss main findings about the climate for faculty of color on our campus, (2) describe how social science research, institutional data, and evaluation inform our programmatic work, and (3) highlight how the strategic use of data allows us to better engage campus stakeholders in institutional change efforts in support of faculty diversity.

Vican, S. (2018, April), Using Data to Drive Institutional Change: University of Delaware ADVANCE Institute Research on Faculty Women of Color Paper presented at 2018 CoNECD - The Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity Conference, Crystal City, Virginia. 10.18260/1-2--29591

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