Professor Sharon Mason is an Associate Professor in the Department of Information Sciences and Technology at RIT where she has served on the faculty since 1997. Sharon has been involved in computing security education at RIT since its inception. She is the PI of for the Department of Defense (DoD) Information Assurance Scholarship Program (IASP) awards to RIT. These scholarships enable students to study and do research in graduate programs in security, forensics and information assurance. To date, scholarships to RIT students total more than $800,000.
, being the first woman civilian faculty member in her department. Margaret maintains a research program in the area of advanced thermodynamic analyses and health monitoring of energy intensive systems.
In science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines within the United States; women faculty are underrepresented within many disciplines including engineering, computer science, and physics. At a large private university, RIT, the ADVANCE institutional transformation project (supported by NSF Award No. 1209115), referred to as AdvanceRIT, aims to increase the representation and advancement of women STEM faculty (which includes social and behavioral sciences, SBS) by removing barriers to resources that support career success and by creating new interventions and resources. This paper reports on the design, delivery and evaluation of a professional development workshop series, called the Connectivity Series, which is a vital initiative within this large-scale, multi-year, strategic institutional transformation project. The workshop series consists of programs to promote the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women faculty. The project team developed workshop themes based on the results of a faculty climate survey and a literature review as part of a previously conducted NSF ADVANCE funded self-study (0811076). Project researchers created the Connectivity Series for all tenure-track women faculty on campus as well as targeted workshops for women of color and deaf and hard of hearing women faculty. All disciplines represented within the university (STEM and non-STEM) have been identified as the target audience for workshop offerings due to the high prevalence of STEM disciplines within the university. Program assessment and evaluation results are presented. In addition, a sustainability plan is outlined for continuation of these targeted workshops beyond the five-year grant funding period.
In preparation for creating an institutional transformation strategy, researchers conducted a multi-year self-study (NSF ADVANCE 0811076) to identify career advancement and navigation barriers for current women faculty at a large private university and establish how well the university addresses issues important to the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women STEM faculty. Results of a faculty climate survey, objective human resources data review, and benchmarking led to the identification of barriers in the areas of career navigation, climate, and flexibility in work/life management balance which have been previously reported. [1][2][3][4] Opportunities for reducing barriers and launching new interventions were assembled into a comprehensive institutional transformation strategy funded in 2012 by NSF ADVANCE (1209115). The goal of this funded project, referred to as AdvanceRIT, increases the representation and advancement of women STEM faculty by creating new interventions, structures, and resources to support faculty career navigation while promoting supportive and aligned cultural change. An additional emphasis adapts interventions to address the needs of key sub-populations including women of color and deaf and hard-of-hearing women faculty. The AdvanceRIT project: 1) refines and strengthens targeted institutional structures; 2) improves the quality of women faculty's work life; 3) aligns institutional, administrative, and informal systems of power and resources to support and sustain progress towards the project goal; and 4) enhances the working environment and support career advancement for women faculty that supports career goals for all faculty.
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