AdvanceVT Annual Report : Year 6 : September 2008 – August 2009

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.

Significant accomplishments during year six include the expansion of available child care described above, the culmination of many years of effort by university leaders supported by the AdvanceVT program. AdvanceVT also conducted a repeat of the Faculty Work- Life survey in fall 2008 and submitted a proposal for a PAID grant to study changes in perceptions of leadership at ADVANCE Institutional Transformation grant recipient institutions. In addition to maintaining a portfolio of workshops and seminars for current and future faculty, AdvanceVT co-hosted the sixth annual “Advancing Diversity at Virginia Tech” conference on January 12, with the Office of Equity and Inclusion, with a record 300 attendees.