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1. Fostering the professional advancement of minority STEM faculty at HBCUs

   Qazi, M. ; Escobar, M. ( January 2019 , Peer review)

   Faculty of color are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, and this underrepresentation is more evident in the higher ranks of the professoriate. This paper presents the rationale for developing the Pathways for Advancement and Tenure at HBCUs (PATHs) program which, with support from the NSF Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program, seeks to provide underrepresented faculty at HBCUs with the tools to attain promotion and tenure. PATHs three interventions (grantsmanship, research publications, and quality of life) provide its participating Faculty (PATHs Fellows) with the tools to develop a competitive promotion and tenure application. The expectations and limitations to implementation of the program are discussed in the framework of the current status of HBCUs. 

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2. A New Effort to Diversify Faculty: Postdoc-to-Tenure Track Conversion Models

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.733995  

   Culpepper, Dawn ; Reed, Autumn M. ; Enekwe, Blessing ; Carter-Veale, Wendy ; LaCourse, William R. ; McDermott, Patrice ; Cresiski, Robin H. ( November 2021 , Frontiers in Psychology)

   Calls to diversify the professoriate have been ongoing for decades. However, despite increasing numbers of scholars from underrepresented racial minority groups earning doctorates, actual progress in transitioning to faculty has been slow, particularly across STEM disciplines. In recent years, new efforts have emerged to recruit faculty members from underrepresented racial minority groups (i.e., African American/Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and/or Native American/Native Hawaiian/Indigenous) through highly competitive postdoctoral programs that allow fellows the opportunity to transition (or “convert”) into tenure-track roles. These programs hybridize some conventional aspects of the faculty search process (e.g., structured interview processes that facilitate unit buy-in) along with novel evidence-based practices and structural supports (e.g., proactive recruitment, cohort communities, search waivers, professional development, enhanced mentorship, financial incentives). In this policy and practice review, we describe and synthesize key attributes of existing conversion programs at institutional, consortium, and system levels. We discuss commonalities and unique features across models ( N = 38) and draw specific insights from postdoctoral conversion models developed within and across institutions in the University System of Maryland (USM). In particular, experience garnered from a 10-year-old postdoc conversion program at UMBC will be highlighted, as well as the development of an additional institutional model aimed at the life sciences, and a state-system model of faculty diversification with support from a NSF Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) grant. 

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3. Investigating Tenure Experiences of Foreign-Born Women Faculty in Engineering at the California State University System

   Oka, Lalita ; Stillmaker, Kimberly ; Rosser, Sue ; Sadrinezhad, Arezoo ; Nazari, Maryam ; Park, Younghee ; Abercromby, Kira ; Amirkulova, Feruza ( June 2022 , ASEE Annual Conference proceedings)

   The number of engineering doctoral degrees awarded to foreign-born (international) students has increased in the past three decades. It has resulted in an increase in the foreign-born professoriate across the USA. To address gender parity and address the needs of a diverse student population, many universities are increasingly recruiting foreign-born women faculty. While their immigration status is their transitional identity, they do have a distinctive racial/ethnic identity. Unfortunately, issues of foreign-born faculty, especially women, are understudied. A pilot study was carried out at the California State University System to assess the needs of women faculty. A survey was administered to the engineering faculty (all identity groups) across California State University System. This paper examines the tenure navigation of foreign-born women faculty to identify their needs to attain tenure and promotion successfully. Resource satisfaction between the populations based on gender and foreign-born status are compared. Based on the evidence presented, the authors argue that foreign-born status should be considered as one of the parameters in planning retention programs and addressing intersectionality for engineering academics. Some ongoing efforts at the California State University System are also reported. 

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4. Barriers and Facilitators to Obtaining External Funding at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

   Escobar, Martha ; Qazi, Mohammed ; Majewski, Haylee ; Jeelani, Shaik ( September 2023 , Journal of STEM education)

   Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were established to further the education of Black Americans and have a long history of service to minority, first-generation, and low-income students. HBCUs are also struggling financially, due to federal and state underinvestment, small endowments, low alumni giving, and decreasing enrollment. Financial constraints not only have a direct impact on physical facilities and resources, but also on human resources. Faculty at HBCUs are tasked with heavy teaching loads and, in research-focused institutions, high research expectations, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. However, HBCUs can provide only limited support for these research endeavors; thus, faculty at these institutions need to pursue external grants and contracts to support their research. In the present study, we surveyed faculty at five research-focused HBCUs to determine the major difficulties they encounter when applying for external funding (barriers) and the things their institution could do to facilitate this process (facilitators). Time constraints and difficulties with internal functioning and policies emerged as the most relevant barriers, whereas providing training and mentoring and improving internal functioning and policies emerged as the most relevant facilitators. The PATHs program is proposed as a model of faculty support anchored around mentoring and institutional awareness, and which could be adapted to different institutions to increase their faculty’s success in attaining external funding. 

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5. Barriers and Facilitators to Obtaining External Funding at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

   Escobar, Martha ; Qazi, Mohammed ; Majewski, Haylee ; Jeelani, Shaik ( August 2023 , Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research)

   Raju, P K ; Banu, E (Ed.)

   Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were established to further the education of Black Americans and have a long history of service to minority, first-generation, and low-income students. HBCUs are also struggling financially, due to federal and state underinvestment, small endowments, low alumni giving, and decreasing enrollment. Financial constraints not only have a direct impact on physical facilities and resources, but also on human resources. Faculty at HBCUs are tasked with heavy teaching loads and, in research-focused institutions, high research expectations, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. However, HBCUs can provide only limited support for these research endeavors; thus, faculty at these institutions need to pursue external grants and contracts to support their research. In the present study, we surveyed faculty at five research-focused HBCUs to determine the major difficulties they encounter when applying for external funding (barriers) and the things their institution could do to facilitate this process (facilitators). Time constraints and difficulties with internal functioning and policies emerged as the most relevant barriers, whereas providing training and mentoring and improving internal functioning and policies emerged as the most relevant facilitators. The PATHs program is proposed as a model of faculty support anchored around mentoring and institutional awareness, and which could be adapted to different institutions to increase their faculty’s success in attaining external funding. 

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