ACA News

ACCE Grant Meeting Both Program's Goals

 As we prepared the ACCE grant’s first annual report to the National Science Foundation, we have been reflecting about the grant’s reach over the past year have been plentiful. The Appalachian Colleges Collaborating for Equity (ACCE) ADVANCE project has two goals: 1) To enhance the career trajectories of individual women and underrepresented minorities in STEM faculty positions at ACA institutions; and 2) To address systemic barriers to equity and inclusion for women and underrepresented minority STEM faculty. Two September events demonstrate the breadth of the grant’s impact.
 
First, a record number of ACA faculty attended ACCE’s first professional development webinar of the Fall 2024 semester on September 11, 2024. Carey Ruiz, ACCE Co-PI and Associate Professor of Sociology at Campbellsville University, posed an inspired approach to faculty working with ACA students. With over twenty years of teaching experience – eight of which have been specifically at an ACA institution – Ruiz has spent considerable time thinking about how changing student demographics affect teaching and learning. Ruiz noted, “It’s clear there is a real interest in the conversation, which is an indicator that many ACA faculty are empathic, teaching oriented, and wanting to do their best for their students.”  Participant engagement was high. Throughout the session, participants shared novel, unique, and innovative teaching strategies and classroom engagement tools. “I learned as much from the participants because of the collaboration. Providing space and giving permission to faculty to acknowledge their own issues within the classroom and realize that other faculty struggle as well was powerful,” noted Ruiz.
 
A recording of Ruiz’s presentation is available for those who missed this first professional development webinar of the semester.  Two webinars remain in the Fall 2024 faculty webinar series. All ACA faculty are invited to register for “Improving Inclusive Teaching with Neuroscience” presented by Chris Cain, Professor of Education & Director Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning (Mars Hill University), and Ben Van Dyke, Assistant Professor of Psychology & Faculty Director of the First-Year Experience (Young Harris College) and “Breathing is a Brain Massage: Tools for Compassionate Cognition” is presented by by Jonna Kwiatkowski, Professor of Psychology (Mars Hill University).
 
Second, 16 department chairs and other academic administrators from 10 ACA institutions gathered for a pre-Summit workshop titled “Inclusive Leadership for Chairs.”. The workshop, held in Knoxville, TN on September 25, 2024, was an all-day gathering designed to enhance the leadership capacity of department chairs – a role identified by ACCE leaders as crucial in institutional change management efforts – by incorporating more inclusive practices into their work and department. Participants learned from Dr. Jodie Crosby Ferise (Founder and President of University Equity Solutions, LLC); Dr. Jennifer Burris (Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Lenoir-Rhyne University); and Dr. Beth Rushing (President of Appalachian College Association) and Dr. Grant Willhite (Vice President for Academic Affairs at Tennessee Wesleyan University) about several inclusive intervention strategies. Each strategy presented targeted a unique opportunity within the faculty cycle: within faculty searches; promotion and tenure policies; and retention efforts. 
 
“Leaving Knoxville, I was incredibly proud of the grant’s impact to date. To witness the potential power within the Department Chairs workshop, though, was particularly special,” Rushing shared. “To provide a brand-new workshop to ACA leaders that clearly supports the grant’s second goal – to address systemic barriers to equity and inclusion – was inspiring. As we continue to provide institutional change strategies to ACA leaders, I grow increasingly confident in the grant’s ability to inform meaningful inclusion efforts.” The grant’s senior leaders hope to build upon the many engaged suggestions from attendees on future department-level opportunities.

Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE Program, Award #2304868 aims to address the significant challenge of hiring and retaining women and underrepresented minorities in STEM faculty positions, particularly at small rural institutions in the Appalachian region. As a non-profit consortium of 33 private four-year liberal arts institutions, the Appalachian College Association (ACA) serves Appalachian communities through the transformational work of its faculty, staff, and students. The National Science Foundation’s ADVANCE program is aimed at increasing the participation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers, thereby developing a more diverse science and engineering workforce. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.