Members of the OREGON STATE ADVANCE TEAM organize presentations at key meetings of faculty and administrators throughout the university in order to raise awareness of equity, inclusion, and justice issues. Presentations have been made throughout the university with a focus on STEM units, primarily in conjunction with quarterly departmental meetings and new faculty orientation sessions. In addition, presentations have been made to the Faculty Senate, the President’s Commission on the Status of Women and to students in a Gender and Science Course in the Fall of 2016 and Spring of 2017. To date, hundreds of academic and professional faculty and administrators have been exposed to OREGON STATE ADVANCE’S efforts and resources.
See an example of a presentation made to the Faculty Senate here.
Having the ADVANCE team present in my Gender and Science class each term is a fantastic way for the students to see how all the ideas about women and other underrepresented people in STEM fields that they study for the first 3 weeks of class play out at OSU specifically. The course draws students from every college on campus and is a Baccalaureate Core class in the Science, Technology, and Society synthesis category. Many students are from STEM disciplines. The class that you presented to is an honors section; the honors college has more STEM students, particularly engineering students, than liberal arts students so the Baccalaureate Core option is a fabulous way for them to think about their own disciplines from feminist and liberal arts/social science/humanities perspectives. Thinking about their hopes for the future in the context of the historical trajectories of women in their fields proves exciting even then it may be disheartening. My classes always have a good turnout at the ADVANCE speaker presentations.
- Instructor Kryn Freehling-Burton
"Before the presentation I knew that there was a gender skew in the hiring and promoting of women, but I didn’t know the numbers for OSU, nor did I realize there was such a difference in the proportions of women providing instruction and advising for students."
"After the ADVANCE presentation I became a lot more aware of how gender inequality is spread in the academic hierarchy as well as how these inequities occur. I have never had a woman professor in any of my stem classes. I would really love to see someone who looked like me teaching the class. The information in the presentation has impacted my plans for careers in STEM by reminding me to look for graduate schools with inclusive programs and women’s advocacy offices."
"After the presentation I had more of an insight into how men and women differ in what they do within the fields. By this I mean women teaching more and researching less, and not found as frequently out in the field. I did not realize there were so many reasons for this inequity, and was very moved by all of the ways in which ADVANCE is trying to change the institution in order to improve gender equity within STEM fields."
"I had the assumption that once you got into the field you chose, it got easier. The ADVANCE presentation showed me that even once you get into the field, it’s very hard for women to get into higher positions within the academy. There are not many women in positions like professor or dean and now that’s something I’m going to focus on more. Women professors have helped me discover the direction I want to go but also where I’m needed…Every time I see a woman professor in Ag I get inspired!"
"I knew that my field in particular (physics) has a problem with underrepresentation for women and pretty much every other minority. I found out that there is a national program trying to change the culture of science. I also found out that OSU is doing what it can to increase diversity on campus…It makes me feel like I am part of a larger wave of change that is creating an inclusive environment for science."
"I was aware of the surface of the issue, but I never allowed myself to really dive in headfirst and expore it. Now I notice disparities everywhere and the long history that has led to this becoming the norm. The lack of women in science is a problem on all levels, individual, social, and institutional that will take years and decades of countless effort to fix."
"I’d say that women professors in STEM have had a profound impact on my college career. They are my main supporters and are the ones who push me to do more."
"Prior to the ADVANCE presentation, I knew very little about the specific steps being made toward gender equity and success in STEM…After the presentation, I learned about the goals of OSU’s ADVANCE team to bring about gender equity and success in STEM fields. More specifically, I was surprised to learn about the polities in place to encourage and promote equitable and inclusive environments here at Oregon State University."