2023 Collaborative Network for Computing and Engineering Diversity (CoNECD)

Advocates and Allies Across Multiple Institutions – A Discussion of Best-Practices to Support Gender Equity

Presented at Session 3 - Track 1: Advocates and Allies Across Multiple Institutions: A Discussion of Best-Practices to Support Gender Equity

In this paper, we discuss advocacy and allyship activities aimed at gender equity that have been implemented at four different academic institutions – North Dakota State University, Marquette University, Indiana University Bloomington, and University of Dayton – as part of programming sponsored through either NSF ADVANCE grants or internal funding designed to improve primarily gender equity. The goal of this ongoing discussion is to identify best-practice strategies that involve men faculty in addressing gender equity issues in higher education institutions. This review identifies the importance of three activities: 1) training workshops, 2) advocacy from within university committees, and 3) women faculty serving as advisory boards as underlying successful strategies. Recruiting and training of advocates and allies has been done successfully through workshops. These workshops can be delivered by experienced Advocates - such as those offered by NDSU at more than 35 other institutions – or be organized internally with many different focuses – such as those organized by Indiana University Bloomington and University of Dayton (e.g., online training modules). Advocacy from within committees at all levels (e.g., department/unit, college, university) are effective ways to achieve policy/practice changes. Examples include NDSU’s Commission on the Status of Women Faculty and faculty senate committee, Marquette’s university-level P&T committee. Women serving as advisory boards, consultants, or vetting/sounding groups and sometimes are the ones who initiated the formation of men Advocates groups. Engaging women, but without over-burdening them, helps to establish communication and feedback mechanisms. We are also announcing the launch of a national emailing list, ADVOCATES-GLOBE, and invite members of advocates groups to join. The list is intended to serve as a platform to discuss and disseminate best-practices and resources in support of gender equity.

Authors

Dr. Cristinel Ababei http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7609-5304 Marquette University [biography]

I am an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Marquette University. I received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, in 2004 and the M.Sc. (signal processing) and B.S. (microelectronics) degrees from the Technical University "Gh. Asachi" of Iasi, Romania. Prior to joining Marquette University, from 2012 to 2013, I was an assistant professor in the Dept. of Electrical Engineering, The State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo and from 2008 to 2012, I was an assistant professor in the Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, North Dakota State University (NDSU). Previously, from 2004 to 2008, I worked for Magma Design Automation, San Jose CA, where I received the outstanding technical contribution award in 2007. During the Summer of 2001, I worked on analog circuit synthesis and layout at NeoLinear Inc., Pittsburgh PA. During 1996-1997, I was an Erasmus graduate student at the University of Patras, Greece. I serve on the technical program committee of several conferences including NOCS, SOCC, and ReConFig. I am a senior member of IEEE and a member of ACM and Eta Kappa Nu. I strive to be an advocate for gender equity.
Dr. John Borg P.E. Marquette University
Dr. Lisa Borello University of Dayton [biography]

Dr. Lisa J. Borello serves as the Executive Director of the Women’s Center at the University of Dayton. In this role, Dr. Borello advances gender equity on campus via educational programming, research, and policy development; the Women’s Center, established in 2003, serves all faculty, staff and students. She also serves as Research Professor of Applied Sociology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work at UD. Dr. Borello has spent more than 20 years working in higher education in diverse roles ranging from strategic communications to grant writing to managing a research lab. She conducts research on women’s representation and advancement in higher education, gender and technologies of the body, and women in male-dominated STEM professions.
Dr. Dennis Brylow http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5531-3782 Marquette University
David Daleke
Prof. Alan Richard Denton http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8710-6662 North Dakota State University [biography]

Alan Denton earned a B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science and M.Sc. in Physics from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University in 1991. After postdoctoral work in Canada, Austria, and Germany, and a visiting faculty post at Acadia University, he joined North Dakota State University, where he is now Professor of Physics. His research interests are in theoretical and computational physics, focusing on self-assembly in soft materials, ranging from nanoparticle suspensions to polymer solutions and biomaterials. He enjoys teaching a spectrum of courses, from introductory to advanced graduate, and has a passion for playing with physics toys in community outreach activities. He strives to promote gender equity through his engagement with the FORWARD Advocates and the Commission on the Status of Women Faculty at NDSU.
Nathan Ensmenger Indiana University [biography]

Nathan Ensmenger is an associate professor in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University. His 2010 book, *The Computer Boys Take Over: Computers, Programmers, and the Politics of Technical Expertise* is a labor and gender history of computer programming. He is currently working on a global environmental history of the electronic digital computer.
Dr. H. Richard Friman Marquette University
Dr. Roger A. Green North Dakota State University [biography]

Roger Green received the B.S. degree in electrical and computer engineering and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Wyoming in 1992, 1994, and 1998, respectively. During his Ph.D. studies, he also obtained a graduate minor in statistics.

He is currently a Professor and Undergraduate Coordinator with the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at North Dakota State University, where he teaches courses and conducts research in signal processing.

Since its inception in 2008, Dr. Green has been an active member of the NDSU Advance FORWARD Advocates, a group of male faculty dedicated to effecting departmental and institutional change in support of gender equality. As part of this group, he regularly trains men, at NDSU and other institutions, to better serve as gender equity allies.
Prof. John Grych Marquette University [biography]

John Grych is a professor of Psychology at Marquette University. His primary research interests focus on understanding factors that promote resilience in children and adolescents, the potential for bystander intervention to reduce sexual and physical violence, and the study and measurement of aggression in family and romantic relationships.
Thomas W James James [biography]

Dr. Thomas James is a professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington. He co-chairs the department’s Diversity Advancement Committee and is the Faculty Director of the campus’ male Allies and Advocates for Equity program, which is an auxiliary of the Center of Excellence for Women in Technology. His research focuses on the role of sensory systems in decision making. His research on sensory evidence accumulation as a neural mechanism of object recognition has been recognized by the Organization for Human Brain Mapping. His mentorship of women has been recognized by the Indiana University Center of Excellence for Women in Technology.
Donald F. Johnson
Dr. Gary Krenz Marquette University [biography]

Gary Krenz is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at Marquette University. He holds an Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Iowa State University. From 2016 to 2022, Krenz directed Marquette University’s COSMIC: Change Opportunity – Start Masters In Computing, which created a customized curriculum pathway for rapid transition into graduate studies for people who have no undergraduate computing degree. COSMIC emphasized recruiting low-income students from populations underrepresented in the computing field.
Jonathan T Macy Indiana University Bloomington
Dr. Robert W Peoples Dept of Biomedical Sciences, Marquette University
Joshua E. Perry Indiana University, Kelley School of Business Bloomington [biography]

Associate Dean for Academics and Graf Family Professor of Business Law and Ethics
Dr. Chris M Ray [biography]

Dr. Chris Ray is a Professor and Head of the School of Education at North Dakota State University, where he primarily teaches courses in the Institutional Effectiveness option of the doctoral program in Education in addition to his administrative responsibilities. He received a B.S. in Psychology from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, and a MS in Counseling and Student Personnel and a PhD in Educational Psychology from Oklahoma State University. Dr. Ray has been a member of NDSU’s FORWARD Advocates program since Fall 2011.
Prof. Martin R St. Maurice Marquette University [biography]

Martin St. Maurice is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Marquette University. His research areas include structural enzymology, with a particular focus on biotin-dependent enzymes.
Dr. Patrick W Thomas [biography]

Dr. Patrick W. Thomas is Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Programs in English at the University of Dayton.
Matthew D Zink [biography]

Matt Zink resides with his wife, daughter and son in Bloomington, Indiana

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