Georgia Institute of Technology Equity, Diversity, and Excellence Initiative

The Equity, Diversity and Excellence Initiative (EDEI) is the outcome of a continued collaboration between the ADVANCE Professors, the Office of Institute Diveristy, the faculty and the administration at Georgia Tech. The Equity, Diversity and Excellence Initiative focuses on four areas:

Mentoring,  Transparency,  Bias Awareness,  and  Accountability.

The full Equity, Diversity and Excellence Initiative is given below.

Equity, Diversity and Excellence Initiative

As ADVANCE faculty, we have invested in building intra-college networks and have established ourselves as the visible face of the Institute’s commitment to women’s advancement in the academy. In this forward- looking climate where new investments in diversity are being made, we see a great opportunity to leverage these networks in collaboration with the VPID office to launch and implement an ADVANCE Initiative on Equity, Diversity and Excellence. The ADVANCE Initiative recognizes that hiring and retaining a world- class faculty requires:

• fostering a diverse pool of talent;

• creating an inclusive and equitable work climate; and

• supporting the career growth of existing faculty at all levels so they can achieve their highest career aspirations at Georgia Tech.

Accordingly, the Initiative emphasizes institutional support through Leadership Training and Mentoring, encouraging Transparency, promoting Bias Awareness and a Culture of Equity, and Data Collection and Analysis to aid in assessment and policy input.
 

I. Mentoring

a) Providing support for junior faculty to have productive, successful careers
Each ADVANCE Professor will continue working with Deans and Chairs in their Colleges to find an appropriate level of support for all junior faculty; this may include “launch committees,” consisting of mentors from within and across schools.

b) Organizing ADVANCE Workshops and Town Halls
The ADVANCE Professors have hosted successful Workshops and Town Halls on topics relevant to the Georgia Tech community. We will continue to organize these once or twice a year.

c) Promoting more women to positions of distinction and visibility
Some recommended policies include: prioritizing diversity in senior hires and in appointments to leadership and distinguished positions; exploring targeted fundraising, creating leadership training programs.

II. Transparency

a) Requiring all Colleges to have transparent, clear process guidelines for R, P&T
As recommended by the GT Promotion and Tenure ADVANCE Committee (PTAC), each college should have easily accessible guidelines for the RPT process. The ADVANCE Professors are working closely with their respective Deans’ offices to make information readily available for all faculty (such as timelines, committee formation, letter writer selection, etc.). When appropriate, we also will work to supply samples of materials from successful cases and organize forums for communicating information on the process.

b) Working with School Chairs and Deans toward increased transparency
The ADVANCE Professors will continue working with the Deans and School Chairs to provide open information about School operations, such as committee assignments, buyout policies, leave policy (e.g., medical, faculty development leave, active service / modified duties).

III. Bias Awareness and Promoting a Culture of Equity

a) Designing a Statement of our Commitment to Diversity and Equity
We propose designing an equity statement (such as has been newly added to the President’s website) to be presented: by Chairs and Deans at the first faculty meeting of each year; by RPT and Hiring Committee Chairs to their committees each season; at annual Staff and Student meetings; and included in the Ethics Training Module defining Institute values.

b) Annual Dean’s Report on Equity and Diversity
In order to promote accountability in the Colleges, we propose instituting a new annual Dean’s Report on Equity and Diversity addressing measures taken in each of the Schools and across the College to address issues of Diversity and Fairness. Report on policies and data are to be obtained annually by the VPID and the Provost from each Dean.

c) Reports from each Hiring and RPT Committee Chair
In order to highlight the Institute’s commitment to Diversity and Equity on these critical committees, we would like to ask each Hiring and RPT Committee Chair to fill in a short template each cycle. These reports will be returned to Chairs (in some cases Deans) to help with the Dean’s Annual Report, and will also be submitted to the VPID office. The ADVANCE Professors will work with the VPID office to provide guidance, including a short checklist of questions to address in the reports and a contact person for suggested best practices.
We will work with the VPID office to provide centralized resources to provide guidance to committee members, Chairs and Deans in this assessment process. Developing a repository of shared resources to facilitate these committees is a long-term objective.

d) Diversity and Equity Awareness Training

Developing a comprehensive Equity Training Program is a long-term objective of the ADVANCE team and is a central component of the Equity Initiative. We will be working closely with the VPID office to identify, develop, and evaluate resources.

1. We will set up an interactive website to help increase individuals’ awareness of personal bias. Members of key committees will be encouraged to explore these resources.

2. Sample statement of equity and diversity: “We will recruit, develop, retain, and engage a diverse cadre of students, faculty, and staff with a wide variety of background, perspectives, interests, and talents, creating a campus community that exemplifies the best in all of us—in our intellectual pursuits, our diversity of thought, our personal integrity, and our inclusive excellence.” —Georgia Tech Strategic Plan

3. We will work with the VPID office to identify a faculty liaison for bias and inequity concerns (to provide a neutral resource to faculty). This liaison will also be available for committee members to ask questions regarding diversity and equity.

4. We will promote within the units to invitation of representatives from the VPID office join faculty meetings to deliver presentations and discuss bias and equity each year. Materials to foster discussion will be made available online.

5. With the VPID, we will tailor existing training materials to initiate a training and awareness program at Georgia Tech based on considerations of cost effectiveness. We will work closely with the VPID office over the next year to identify training materials and determine the appropriate level of investment in such a program.

IV. Accountability and Data Collection

a) Data collection and tracking
Provide advisement to help identify metrics and expanded data categories to track faculty retention, advancement, and satisfaction. Conduct surveys for faculty leaving Tech and potential hires who have turned down offers.

b) Data driven recommendations
Based on the collected data, the ADVANCE Professors will work with and advise the Provost, Deans, and other members of the administration to identify issues, problems and solutions.