ADVANCE Annual Distinguished Lecture
The UMass ADVANCE team selects a distinguished speaker, each year, representing different areas of STEM. ADVANCE Distinguished Lecturers are invited to give a talk of their choosing that centers gender equity in science and engineering, with an intersectional lens.
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Attend a Workshop
ADVANCE program workshops are delivered in partnership with units across campus to extend and enhance our existing campus offerings. Our partners include the Provost’s Office, the Office of Equity and Inclusion, the Institute for Social Science Research, the Office of Faculty Development, the Massachusetts Society of Professors (faculty union), the Center for Research on Families, as well as the College of Education, the College of Natural Sciences, the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the School of Public Health and Health Sciences.
Apply for a Collaborative Research Seed Grant
This seed grant program fosters the development of innovative and equitable collaborative research projects among UMass Amherst faculty. Funded seed grants at UMass will contribute to the mission of the National Science Foundation ADVANCE program. All tenure-track full-time faculty and full-time lecturers who are on continuing appointments with research as part of their job duties are eligible. Collaborative teams will receive logistics support from the ADVANCE team and will be supported in applying for external funding opportunities based on the seed funded project.
Proposed projects will be evaluated for scientific merit; contributions to faculty gender equity; collaborative research among women faculty and faculty from under-represented groups at UMass; potential for establishing sustainable research collaborations at UMass; and opportunities to pursue external funding beyond the period of the seed funding. Grants range from $10,00-$15,000.
Apply for a Mutual Mentoring Grant
The Mutual Mentoring Grant Program funds team mentoring projects that focus on and promote research collaboration, inclusive communities, and shared decision-making. Team mentoring grants are faculty-driven, context-sensitive mentoring projects, orchestrated by teams that conceive and carry out their own project plans. We welcome proposals from full-time tenure-track faculty and full-time lecturers who are on continuing appointments. UMass ADVANCE particularly encourages proposals from faculty members in NSF-supported fields (the College of Engineering, College of Information and Computer Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, or College or Social and Behavioral Sciences, or in the departments of Management in the Isenberg School of Management and Linguistics in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts). Grants of up to $6,000 will be awarded.
Become an ADVANCE Faculty Fellow
A UMass ADVANCE Faculty Fellowship provides faculty members with a unique opportunity to participate in ADVANCE’s program of institutional transformation. Fellows partner with the ADVANCE Leadership Team as we provide the resources, recognition and relationship building necessary to help faculty collaborate successfully and feel valued and included. Fellows provide recommendations and feedback to the team about ADVANCE programming, and they liaise with their departments and promote our efforts.
The fellowship is open to all faculty, tenure-track and non tenure-track, regardless of where they are on their career path.
Nominate a Faculty for a Faculty Peer Mentoring Award
This award recognizes the vital role faculty play in mentoring their colleagues. Faculty mentoring can take many different forms: mentoring relationships can be informal or formal, can occur through workshops or professionalization seminars, or through one-on-one meetings or mutual mentoring groups. All of these forms of faculty mentoring are eligible for the mentor award.
Any member of the faculty may nominate another faculty member, in a tenure-track or non tenure-track position for this award (self-nominations are not accepted).
Self-Nominate Your Faculty Group for a Collaboration Award
UMass ADVANCE supports faculty equity through the power of collaboration. ADVANCE calls for self-nominations for a new collective award to faculty groups to recognize effective and equitable shared decision-making practices.
Workload Equity Project
The recently agreed upon Massachusetts Society of Professor (MSP) contract requires all departments to develop equitable workload plans during the 2022-2023 year. The plans are required to focus on racial and gender equity and recognize individuals who have high levels of service and mentoring. Does your department need assistance developing an equitable workload plan?