National experts gather to discuss women’s advancement in academy’s senior ranks

Troy, N.Y. — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute today announced a universitywide initiative to improve representation of female educators in academia’s influential high-ranking positions. The program, which is funded by a $329,960 grant from the National Science Foundation, seeks to aid women along the academic career path from junior positions toward tenure and full professorship

Called RAMP-UP (Reforming Advancement Processes through University Professions), the effort is aimed at improving the advancement experience for Rensselaer faculty, while serving as a national model for advancement reform, according to Cheryl Geisler, professor and chair of Rensselaer’s Language, Literature, and Communication department and principal investigator on the project. Key components of the effort will include mentoring programs, faculty workshops, faculty advancement coaches, and pipeline searches to recruit senior women from industry or national labs.

The announcement was made today at a RAMP-UP kick-off celebration on the Rensselaer campus, which included a colloquy of national experts on women’s advancement issues led by Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. The discussion featured Shulamit Kahn, professor of finance and economics at Boston University and co-author of the report, “Does Science Promote Women? Evidence from Academia 1973-2001;” Robert Drago, professor of labor studies and women’s studies at Pennsylvania State University; and Carol Colatrella, professor of literature and cultural studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology and co-author of “Participation, Performance, and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering: What Is at Issue and Why.” 

A Web cast of the colloquy can be viewed at:

http://mediasite.itops.rpi.edu/Mediasite4/Viewer/?peid=65e0f167-1c3b-4b29-9fff-4886179da4d9.

“The underrepresentation in science and engineering of young women and ethnic minority youth — a new majority in the United States accounting for nearly two-thirds of the population — has become a growing national issue,” said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. “Recent reports by major academic and scientific organizations indicate that these trends extend past students to include female and minority educators in science and engineering whose presence is lacking in academia’s tenured, chaired, and full professor positions.” 

“Understanding and unraveling the myriad 21st century challenges requires tapping the entire talent pool, including the ‘new majority,’ engaging students early in science to excite the next generation of scientists, engineers, leaders, and decision makers; and re-evaluating and reforming university advancement processes to ensure that all academics are extended an unbiased, equal opportunity to excel.”

In September 2006, the National Academies released Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering, a report that stated, “Women face barriers to hiring and promotion in research universities in many fields of science and engineering.” 

One month later the American Association of University Professors released a similar report, revealing that women hold only 24 percent of full professor positions in the United States. While women are obtaining doctoral degrees at record rates, their representation in the ranks of tenured faculty remains below expectations, according to the document.

“Rensselaer is well situated to address the issues associated with women’s advancement to the senior ranks,” said Robert Palazzo, acting provost and co-PI on the RAMP-UP project. “Under President Jackson’s leadership, the Institute has seen the number of women in the faculty increase by 29 percent since 2001, with a growth of 33 percent at the senior level. The introduction of the RAMP-UP initiative demonstrates Rensselaer’s firm commitment to maximizing the potential of each and every faculty member on campus.” 

The RAMP-UP program addresses women’s advancement at a range of levels across the Institute, with four key components including:

Faculty Coaches
A faculty coach will eventually be established in each of the five schools on the Rensselaer campus. A senior faculty member nominated by peers and appointed by the school dean, the faculty coach will act as a resource to the school-level promotion and tenure review committee and serve as an adviser and advocate for individual faculty members in the program. Today, Professor Keith Nelson of the electrical, computer, and systems engineering department in the School of Engineering was named as the Institute’s first faculty coach.

“The faculty coach will attend to the career development of individual members of the faculty,” said Debbie Kaminski, associate professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering at Rensselaer and co-PI on the RAMP-UP project.

A Pipeline Search
Rensselaer also has announced a pipeline search to recruit a woman from industry, national labs, or other nonacademic sources for an on-campus, tenured, full professor position. Based on proposals submitted by departments, the search will identify qualified candidates with high potential from pools not typically employed in academic searches, and identified candidates will go through the normal academic appointment process. Preference will be given to candidates who can provide leadership in the new thrust area of energy and the environment.

“With the recent history of strong hiring at Rensselaer, many departments have now recruited women to the junior ranks,” said Palazzo. “However, we are striving to assure the recruitment of women into leadership positions to provide balanced mentoring for all women faculty.”

The pipeline hire is expected to take place in 2008.

Career Campaign
To address advancement needs at the individual level, Rensselaer has announced funding for seven “career campaigns,” in which senior faculty members — from Rensselaer or elsewhere — serve as mentors to junior women faculty as they begin the advancement process. The pair will conduct a cumulative review of the junior faculty member’s work, develop a strategy for advancement, and develop a proposal for successful advancement. The team will work together for the time required to bring the candidate to the next level in the advancement process.

Junior faculty members receiving funding awards for “career campaigns” include: Blanca Barquera, assistant professor of biology; Audrey Bennett, associate professor of language, literature, and communication; Janice Fernheimer, assistant professor of language, literature, and communication; Mariana Figuero, assistant professor at the Lighting Research Center; Tomie Hahn, associate professor of the arts; Lupita Montoya, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering; and Ingrid Wilke, assistant professor of physics.

Faculty Workshops
Finally, across the university, the RAMP-UP program will fund a series of faculty workshops tailored for both candidates and decision-makers in the advancement process. One workshop will be offered per semester to address major issues surrounding the topic of women’s advancement, and each session will provide attendees with a brief summary and bibliography of relevant research, a time for discussion of issues, and a breakout time to pursue networking opportunities. 

The first workshop for faculty, senior mentors, and academic leaders will be held tomorrow morning. Topics of discussion will include what makes mentoring work and balancing work and personal life.

Contact: Amber Cleveland
Phone: (518) 276-2146
E-mail: clevea@rpi.edu