UW-Madison Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI): Advancing Women in Academic Science & Engineeri

1. NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award at UW-Madison

2. Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI) • “… a visible, campus-wide entity, endorsed by top-level administrators, which will use UW-Madison as a "living laboratory" to study the problem [of low numbers of women in high levels of academic science & engineering] and implement solutions.” • Established as a Center based in the College of Engineering

3. Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI) • General strategy = hit the issues from all angles and imbed them in every discussion • Mount new initiatives that fill gaps in UW-Madison’s environment • Evaluate impact of both old and new initiatives • Develop a visible presence on campus • Disseminate best-practices

4. WISELI People • Co-Directors • Molly Carnes, Prof. of Medicine (Medical School) • Jo Handelsman, Prof. of Plant Pathology (CALS) • Research Director • Jennifer Sheridan, Ph.D., Sociology • Leadership Team (6 schools/colleges) • Center for Biology Educ, Chemistry, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Engineering Physics, Ed. Policy Studies, English/Linguistics, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Nursing, Ob/Gyn, Physics, Sociology • Others • Eve Fine, Ph.D., Researcher, History of Science • Christine Pribbenow, Ph.D., Evaluation Dir., Ed Policy • Deveny Benting, Evaluator • Student hourlie

5. Why a Center? • Mission cannot be accommodated by a departmental structure • Interdisciplinary (14 departments, 6 schools/ colleges) • Emphasizes the institutional research focus of WISELI • Establishes potential means for sustainability beyond ADVANCE funding

6. Why in the College of Engineering? • Strategic for securing grant and establishing campuswide presence • Lack of women a more acute problem • Enthusiastic support of Dean • Supports strategic plan of CoE • Recruit, support, and retain a world-class diverse faculty….

7. Collaborations with other UW-Madison Programs • Provost’s Office diversity initiatives (AVC for Diversity and Climate: Bernice Durand) • The Center for Women’s Health Research (Dir: Molly Carnes) • Howard Hughes Medical Institute New Generation Program (Dir: Jo Handelsman) • Diversity Affairs Office in the College of Engineering (Dir: Douglass Henderson)

8. WISELI Initiatives • Resources • Workplace Interactions • Life-Career Interface • Professional/personal Development, Leadership,Visibility • Overarching

9. WISELI Initiatives:Resources Resource study (new) • Pay equity study (existing)

10. WISELI Initiatives:Workplace Interactions • Provost’s climate initiative (existing) • Sexual harassment information sessions (existing) Workshops for deans and department chairs (new) Training of hiring committee chairs (new)

11. WISELI Initiatives:Life-Career Interface • Tenure clock extensions (existing) • Dual-career couples (existing) • Campus child care (existing) • Split appointments (existing) Life cycle research grants (new)

12. WISELI Initiatives:Development, Leadership, Visibility • WISE Dorms (existing) • Women faculty mentoring program (existing) “Celebrating Women in Science & Engineering Symposia” (new) • Grant program • WISELI seminar

13. WISELI Initiatives:Development, Leadership, Visibility Leadership development and/or tenure-track conversion of non-tenure-track women (new) Leadership development/mentoring for senior women (new) Networks, promote communication, increase visibility (new)

14. WISELI Initiatives:Overarching • Committee on Women in the University (existing) WISELI (new) Video documentation of institutional transformation (new) Evaluation/research (new)

15. Life Cycle Research Grants Creating Space Celebrating Women in S&E Grants Conversion to tenure-track Awards and honors Leadership Development for academic staff Discourse analysis of women’s communication strategies Ethnographic study of gendered interactions in the laboratory setting Interviews with women engineers at the beginning of the career Climate Workshops for Department Chairs Workshops for Search Committee Chairs Senior women initiative Documentary Video Resource Study Study of Faculty and Academic Staff Worklife at UW-Madison Interviews with women faculty and staff in S&E

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23. Strategies that seem to be working: • Involving all stakeholders at all stages, in multiple formats • E.g. Town Hall meetings, senior women faculty, multiple meetings at all levels (Deans, Schools, Depts, committees) • Empowering Leadership Team • Individual meetings; career coaching; sabbatical support • Keeping the focus on research • Success in valued metrics: publications and grants (e.g. LSAMP, AGEP, NIH Roadmap)

24. Strategies that seem to be working: • Bringing the data back to the participants • Matching the messenger to the message • E.g. Engineering faculty present to College of Engineering • Collaborating with other diversity efforts • Keep gender in the diversity discussions; • Keep diversity in gender discussions

25. What doesn’t/didn’t work • Workshops only from Campus Administration (UW-Madison is steeped in faculty governance) • Bringing in an “institutional coach”

26. Summary • Gaining and disseminating understanding about why it is so difficult even when individuals and institutions are committed and well intentioned • Hitting the issue from all angles so that people are “singing it in the shower!” • Working to make WISELI endure to continue institutional research