MU-ADVANCE Networking Events

Overall, MU-ADVANCE has hosted monthly networking events open to female STEM faculty and post-docs during the academic year. Participation has remained consistent across the 2.5 years, with women from all STEM colleges and departments in attendance.  Overall, 47% of female STEM faculty participated in at least two networking events; 69% attended at least one.

In year 1, MU-ADVANCE hosted four events during the Spring 2007 semester.

  • February: The Welcome Reception allowed Faculty members from the four colleges and schools affiliated with ADVANCE to become acquainted with each other.  It also provided an opportunity to showcase and highlight the goals of the ADVANCE Program. 

  • March: Mentoring focused on the existing mentoring system, or lack thereof, and how it could be improved. Many participants said they have to look beyond their administrators and colleagues at MU for any advice – outside collaborations are the key to success. 

  • April: Work/Life Balance involved attendees talking about how they manage to fulfill their work duties, while still making time for their personal lives.  Not surprising, having children or planning to have children complicates the balance between the two.  For many, more convenient, accessible daycare would alleviate much of the stress of daily life.

  • May: Get to Know the BMS Faculty was an event in which Biomedical Science faculty displayed and explained their research in an informal poster session.  This gathering focused on allowing faculty to begin to learn what research is occurring on campus, to make contacts, and to exchange ideas. 

MU-ADVANCE hosted 10 networking events in year 2.  At the request of the participating faculty, the networking events were held during breakfast, lunch, and during the afternoon as “coffee breaks,” to help reach as many interested people as possible.  Below are summaries of each of this year’s networking events. 

  • September: New Faculty Luncheon provided an opportunity to introduce new faculty and gave them an opportunity to discuss their transition to Marshall.  Difficulty setting up their labs was the consensus concern of the meeting.  The MU-ADVANCE team was introduced, providing information on how each member could be of assistance. 
  • October: Strategies to Improve Faculty Productivity focused on productivity hindrances.  The two biggest challenges discussed were dealing with e-mails and how to handle teaching loads.  The group suggested solutions and brainstormed about methods that had worked for them at Marshall.
  • November: A Teaching Overview: “It was the best of times…it was the worst of times” provided participants an opportunity to discuss this semester’s teaching successes and challenges.  The participants provided suggestions for challenges concerning student complaints about workload, and unprepared or unmotivated students.
  • January: Research Chalk Talk brought together faculty members from all four ADVANCE-affiliated colleges to informally present and discuss their research. 
  • February: A half-day work/life balance workshop: “Poised for Life…Poised for Success…Maintaining Equilibrium as a Woman in Academia.”  Dr. Meggin McIntosh, Founder and CEO of Emphasis on Excellence Inc., presented the workshop, offering strategies to female faculty and staff on how organize and evaluate their schedules both at work and at home. 
  • March: T&P: A Survivor’s Guide used the “Navigate Your Career” game (created by Georgia Tech as a mentoring tool for junior faculty) to stimulate discussion.  Each junior faculty participant was given a question concerning teaching load, research ethics, service responsibilities, or departmental politics. The senior faculty discussed appropriate responses, and this expert advice was compared with that provided in the game.
  • March: Mentor/Mentee Discussion brought together four of the five mentor partnerships to discuss their experiences with the pilot mentor program. 
  • April: Planning for a Productive Summer was a strategizing meeting on how to be productive over the summer, while teaching summer school and/or conducting research. 
  • Coffee breaks were offered at the end of each semester to discuss future networking plans.

 

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