07/23/2021
By Joseph Hartman

As I announced in my June 30 message to campus, we are proud to be launching the UMass Lowell ADVANCE Office for Faculty Equity. The mission of the UML ADVANCE Office is to promote an equitable, inclusive, and empowering environment in which all faculty receive support, resources and opportunities to ensure their success at UMass Lowell. The initial year will focus on transitioning efforts from Making WAVES, which is in its final year of NSF funding, and developing the new office with staff support, including a full-time Program Director. The ADVANCE Office will report to Vice Provost Julie Nash.

We envision an office that will be a faculty-driven resource and advocate for faculty equity. I have invited Meg Bond, Professor of Psychology and Director of WAVES, to be the Faculty Director during this inaugural period.

We are asking for faculty involvement and leadership from full-time and senior adjunct faculty members. Use this form to  self-nominate and/or submit recommendations for the following roles:

  • The ADVANCE Leadership will be a diverse group of 4-6 faculty of any rank who will work closely with the ADVANCE Faculty Director and the Program Director to regularly assess faculty needs, drive innovation, develop new programming, promote transparent communication with faculty, and serve as liaisons to other groups and initiatives that share equity goals. (weekly meetings, average of 15-20 hours per month, 2-3 year renewable commitment – with stipend)
  • Equity Leaders are a diverse group of 8-10 highly respected faculty members tasked with developing and delivering anti-bias and bystander trainings as well as related initiatives that are focused on promoting a sense of community responsibility for addressing bias, microaggressions and harassment. Their work focuses on promoting institutional social norms that counter marginalizing interpersonal behavior and other social identity-based indignities. (bimonthly meetings, leadership in training events, 2-year renewable commitment – with stipend)
  • ADVANCE Advisory Board will have members both internal and external to UMass Lowell who can provide expert advice to the Office. Our aim is to identify people who can provide perspectives from important constituencies (e.g., HR, MSP, Faculty Senate, diverse social identity groups, diverse disciplines/colleges, ranks, national diversity networks) and connect the office to innovative ideas and external resources. (quarterly meetings, 2-year renewable commitment). We welcome participation from faculty as well as recommendations for participation by community partners.

The success of this new office depends upon significant faculty participation and leadership. We encourage the UML community to nominate faculty for each of these roles. Self-nominations are not only welcome, they are encouraged!
Please submit nominations by August 1 so that we can bring people on board to plan for the new academic year.

After review by the ADVANCE Faculty Director and the Vice Provost of Academic Affairs, a subset of nominees will be asked to submit a formal expression of interest and agreement to the expectations of the position. Every effort will be made to ensure representation of diverse constituencies in each role.