Meetings, Workshops, and Summits

faculty in a discussion
Group discussions at the Illinois Regional Hiring and Diversity Workshop in August 2016.

The Fellows Program hosts meetings, workshops, and summits to bring together faculty and staff from ACM and Big Ten Academic Alliance member institutions:

These events are designed to strengthen the connective tissues across the undergraduate and graduate fellow programs, and between the liberal arts colleges and research universities, while also providing collaborative venues in which Big Ten Academic Alliance and ACM institutions can discuss and advance their knowledge of the obstacles to diversity in the hiring process.

Hiring and Diversity/ Retention and Success Workshops

man looking pensive

In an effort to help ACM institutions better understand the complex barriers to diversity and take the necessary steps to be hospitable places for diversity to flourish, a series of workshops is being offered throughout the duration of the grant. These workshops address the obstacles that under-represented applicants experience in the recruitment, hiring, and tenure processes and explore topics germane to the achievement of workplace diversity, such as:

  • Interrupting the usual — Going beyond a laissez-faire approach to diversifying the faculty (i.e. write and post a job description and wait to see which candidates emerge).
  • Unconscious bias — What does cognitive science have to tell us about diverse hiring?
  • Search committee dos and don’ts — Does the job description engage diversity at some level? Is the search committee diverse?
  • Creating a campus culture of inclusion, preventing confusion about how to meet job responsibilities and advance professionally, and ensuring reasonable work burdens on all faculty.

ACM academic deans designate faculty and staff to participate in these workshops.

Summits for Undergraduate and Faculty Fellows

students conversing
  • To connect the undergraduate and post-graduate initiatives and support them at the institutional level, the ACM and Big Ten Academic Alliance organized summits. These annual meetings included programming designed to enhance interactions between the Undergraduate and Faculty Fellows, were intended to promote learning about academic research, graduate school, the academy, and teaching in the liberal arts setting. During these two-day meetings, Mellon Faculty Fellows presented their research to the undergraduates who received Graduate School Exploration Fellowships (GSEF), faculty mentors and sponsors, and other institutional representatives. Faculty fellows also had the opportunity to meet with undergraduate fellows to discuss strategies for graduate admission and the challenges and rewards of graduate study and graduate student life. GSEF fellows presented on their research to the faculty fellows, Big Ten Academic Alliance and ACM faculty mentors, and other attendees. Additional speakers and sessions during these summits addressed larger issues in academia, such as teaching and learning pedagogies in liberal arts colleges.
  • To connect the undergraduate and post-graduate initiatives and support them at the institutional level, the ACM and Big Ten Academic Alliance will organize summits. These annual meetings will include programming designed to enhance interactions between the Undergraduate and Faculty Fellows, are intended to promote learning about academic research, graduate school, the academy, and teaching in the liberal arts setting.During these two-day meetings, Mellon Faculty Fellows will present their research to the undergraduates who have received Graduate School Exploration Fellowships (GSEF), faculty mentors and sponsors, and other institutional representatives. Faculty fellows would also have opportunities to meet with undergraduate fellows to discuss strategies for graduate admission and the challenges and rewards of graduate study and graduate student life.GSEF fellows will be expected to present on their research to the faculty fellows, Big Ten Academic Alliance and ACM faculty mentors, and other attendees. Additional speakers and sessions during these summits address larger issues in academia, such as teaching and learning pedagogies in liberal arts colleges.

Questions? For questions about Fellows Program meetings, workshops, and summits, contact Allen Linton II, ACM Senior Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

These workshops and the Undergraduate and Faculty Fellows Program for a Diverse Professoriate are supported by a generous grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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