Thanks to the generous support of the National Science Foundation for UMSL ADVANCE, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is pleased to announce Equity Advisor Training in Summer 2022.  To help UMSL achieve our Inclusive Excellence and ADVANCE initiatives and goals, Equity Advisors serve as a resource to support faculty and staff committee work by providing guidance for best practices in the recruitment, retention, and promotion of high-quality faculty and staff.  Equity advisors provide an equity-lens regarding gender, race, ethnicity, and other dimensions of identity so that search, promotion, and other academic processes are equitable and inclusive across all departments/units, including those in STEM.

Click here to download flyer.

This 16-hour training will take place in four four-hour sessions via Zoom on July 26, July 29, August 2, and August 5 (10am-3pm with a one-hour lunch break at noon).  It will be facilitated by experts from Oregon State University and UMSL.  The training will focus on best practices for working with committee chairs, committee members, and other hiring/personnel officials to promote inclusive excellence and equity throughout hiring, promotion, and advancement processes (e.g., writing search position descriptions, developing recruitment strategies, reviewing candidate evaluation rubrics, mitigating biases in selection processes, etc.), especially in STEM and other departments/units where women and minorities have traditionally been underrepresented.

Equity Advisors will serve on committees outside of their own department/work unit to provide impartial and unbiased support for inclusive excellence.  However, this training will also enhance the capacity of individuals to serve as highly effective committee members within their own departments/units for cultivating and promoting inclusive excellence.  This training is supported through UMSL ADVANCE, but it is not limited to STEM departments, because UMSL ADVANCE seeks to promote inclusive excellence throughout the institution.

Space is limited.  Applications are due by June 10, 2022.  Although this is not a competitive process, we are looking for a broad diversity of organizational representation. Therefore, your application will be considered in relation to who else applies. You will be notified by June 17 as to whether you will be included in this inaugural cohort.  Late applications will be considered if there is still space available.   Faculty and staff who complete the training will receive an honorarium of $300.  They will also receive an official UMSL ADVANCE Equity Advisor digital badge.

If you are interested in serving as an Equity Advisor to committees outside your department/work unit and/or in enhancing your capacity to be an effective department/unit/committee member, please ensure that you have the support of your direct advisor to participate in the training and subsequently serve in the role of Equity Advisors.  Deans, Department Chairs, supervisors, and other academic and non-academic leaders are encouraged to nominate or refer people to apply.

Have questions? Want to learn more? Register for an information session on Zoom:

Click here to register for the May 3 @ noon info session. 

Click here to register for the May 12 @ 3pm info session. 

Ready to apply? Click here.