AdvanceVT, Reports

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Browsing AdvanceVT, Reports by Author "Hyer, Patricia B."

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    ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Grant Proposal: Virginia Tech
    Hyer, Patricia B.; Thole, Karen A.; Love, Nancy G. (2002)
    Virginia Tech proposes a comprehensive program to promote and enhance the careers of women in science and engineering. The project has four major program elements that address institutional barriers that have constrained the advancement of women faculty members in the sciences and engineering (S&E) and target institutional culture, practices, and leadership development needs specific to Virginia Tech. The four program elements are listed here, with outcome measures and process activities that support each element.
    1. Institutionalizing change
      • Measurable Outcome: A change in the awareness, attitudes, and behaviors of key administrators and faculty members in S&E regarding gender equity issues.
      • Project Activities: retreats and workgroups for faculty and academic leaders, site visits to or interaction with other ADVANCE projects, qualitative assessment of the experience of women faculty in S&E, and review of policies and programs.
    2. Empowering women as leaders and scholars
      • Measurable Outcome: A significant increase in the percentage of women in visible positions as academic and technical leaders and as senior scholars in S&E.
      • Project Activities: half-time placements in leadership roles, research grants, faculty development, a named lecture series, and a flexible work/life fund.
    3. Increasing the representation of women
      • Measurable Outcome: A significant increase in the percentage of women faculty in S&E.
      • Project Activities: intensive work with search committees, visits to other campuses and conferences, and incentives for faculty involvement in recruitment activities.
    4. Advancing women into faculty careers
      • Measurable Outcome: A significant increase in the percentage of women in S&E who choose faculty careers.
      • Project Activities: program to prepare the future professoriate and expanded dissertation year/postdoctoral fellowship program.
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    AdvanceVT Final Report
    Layne, Margaret E.; Hyer, Patricia B. (2010)
    The overall goal of AdvanceVT is to contribute to the development of a national science and engineering academic workforce that includes the full participation of women at all levels of faculty and academic leadership, particularly at the senior academic ranks, through the transformation of institutional practices, policies, climate and culture at Virginia Tech. The program has four major elements: advancing women into faculty careers, increasing the representation of women faculty in science and engineering, empowering women as leaders and scholars, and institutionalizing change. Virginia Tech has institutionalized many of the Advance initiatives, particularly those related to work-life balance and faculty recruiting. This report provides an overview of grant activities and summative assessment of impacts.
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    Creating a Positive Departmental Climate at Virginia Tech: A Compendium of Successful Strategies
    Finney, Jack W.; Finkielstein, Carla V.; Merola, Joseph S.; Puri, Ishwar; Taylor, G. Don; Van Aken, Eileen M.; Hyer, Patricia B.; Savelyeva, Tamara (Virginia Tech, 2008-05-05)
    “Creating a Positive Departmental Climate at Virginia Tech: A Compendium of Successful Strategies” was created as part of the AdvanceVT Departmental Climate Initiative (DCI). The Department Climate Committee collected policies and practices from a variety of sources to provide department chairs and heads with opportunities to learn about departmental issues at Virginia Tech, to understand more fully the ways in which these issues manifest themselves within departments, and to share both successful and unsuccessful strategies illustrative of the different approaches departments have taken towards promoting effective, efficient, and pleasant work environments.
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    An Examination of Departure Trends and Tenure Rates among Pre-Tenure Faculty: A Ten Year Cohort Study (1996 – 2005)
    Cameron, Tracey LaShawne; Hyer, Patricia B. (Virginia Tech, 2010-04)
    The environmental landscape of American higher education is undergoing a major transformation. With the increased minority enrollment and impending exodus of retiring faculty, recruiting and attracting a diverse and excellent professoriate is more important than ever before (Van Ummersen, 2005). Recognizing the critical role that a diverse faculty plays in the collegiate experience of students from underrepresented groups, colleges and universities have focused increased attention on hiring women and ethnic/cultural minorities (Smith, Turner, Osei-Kofi, & Richards, 2004). These efforts have resulted in the gradual increase of traditionally underrepresented faculty during the past decades.

    While the availability of doctorates from more diverse backgrounds has fueled progress in faculty hiring, lower retention rates of women and minorities reduce the rate of progress in diversifying the tenured faculty workforce. Some turnover, whether voluntary or involuntary, is expected. It is necessary in instances of poor teaching performance or low research productivity. It is also a natural consequence of professional advancement (Xu, 2008; Zhou & Volkwein, 2004). Excessive turnover, however, yields undesirable outcomes. Turnover can influence departmental culture, disrupting progress and resulting in the redistribution of teaching loads, advising assignments, and committee tasks. It also presents a financial burden to the institution, resulting in lost return on investment (Xu, 2008). While turnover is inevitable, understanding the factors that contribute to unwanted losses and how these factors affect a faculty member’s decision to depart, warrant significant attention (Xu, 2008). The ongoing monitoring of recruitment and retention practices is one step towards ensuring faculty success and institutional excellence.