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MU-ADVANCE Presents Its Challenges and Successes at the Appalachian Studies Association Conference MU-ADVANCE shared program information and research results at the Appalachian Studies Association Conference, held on March 28-30, 2008, at Marshall University. The MU-ADVANCE Program decided to participate in this conference for several reasons: 1) To introduce the program to other Appalachian institutions; 2) To disseminate information on how the grant has helped generate change at Marshall; 3) To form possible networks with other colleges/universities within the Appalachian region to create change that has potential to be far-reaching. In 2004, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research released a report on WV women, ranking them the least likely to obtain an education and succeed in their careers. This report served as a catalyst for social change at Marshall, which resulted in the preparation of the MU-ADVANCE proposal to the National Science Foundation. MU-ADVANCE believes that removing barriers for female faculty will lead to an increased number of female role models for female students, thus elevating the status of WV women, and therefore, producing more professionals in the region, making WV and Appalachia more economically competitive. Information about the program was displayed at a table, staffed throughout the conference by Drs. Marcia Harrison, Elaine Baker, and Judy Silver, and Program Coordinator Heidi Williams. Our presence at a table served an additional purpose, as we were able to collect information about other Appalachian colleges and universities through a questionnaire about recruitment and retention practices. The responses helped us to evaluate how well Marshall is doing in comparison to other institutions in the region, and to determine which MU-ADVANCE initiatives would be useful for addressing faculty issues at these other institutions. Questionnaire results were based on responses from 1 research and 9 primarily undergraduate institutions; 80% of respondents were women. Most faculty (~60%) reported that their institutions make an effort to diversify the applicant pool and the search committee, that men and women have equal course loads, that tenure and promotion guidelines are accessible, and that some form of pre-tenure review process for pre-tenure tenure-track faculty is in place. However, less than 40% responded that their colleges/universities have revised their tenure and promotion guidelines within the last 5 years. Also, ~40% of the respondents reported that their institutions offer dual career services for spouses or partners of new faculty members, new faculty mentoring, and have sick leave and stop-the-clock policies in place for pre-tenure tenure-track faculty. Respondents from 3 of the 10 institutions reported that their institution had conducted a climate/job satisfaction survey within the past 3 years. In addition to the exhibit, MU-ADVANCE facilitated a dialogue session on the status of women in academia at Appalachian institutions. Led by Drs. Marcia Harrison and Elaine Baker, this session was an open forum with faculty, students, and administrators from Appalachian universities/colleges to discuss issues of recruitment and retention (tenure and promotion, campus climate, and policies) that pose barriers to the advancement of women in academia. We began the session with a short presentation of the challenges and research results from the first two years of the MU-ADVANCE Program, which led to a discussion of issues at other institutions. The faculty attendees at this session also reported both the challenges of and the strategies for succeeding with the tenure and promotion process at their schools. They provided insight and recounted personal experiences for the student members of the audience, who may be interested in pursuing academic careers, testifying to good and bad practices women have dealt with in academics. Comparing the questionnaire responses to the current policies and practices at Marshall, it is clear that MU-ADVANCE is a needed resource on campus. MU-ADVANCE has helped to create materials for search committees to diversify the applicant pool and the search committee itself, and is making every effort to implement procedures that are already in effect at other Appalachian colleges/universities, such as pre-tenure reviews. With less than half of the schools reporting the existence of policies that MU-ADVANCE is currently proposing, it appears that Marshall isn’t too far behind in the region at offering family-friendly policies. MU-ADVANCE’s participation in the conference has given us information about other Appalachian institutions that may help guide the dissemination of MU-ADVANCE developed best that would be especially useful for faculty recruitment and retention efforts at other primarily undergraduate Appalachian institutions.
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