Below are some of the initiatives and resources at the University at Buffalo to further our goal of diversifying the faculty.
PRODiG ("Promoting Recruitment, Opportunity, Diversity, Inclusion and Growth") is a program that aims to increase the representation of historically underrepresented faculty at SUNY including underrepresented minority ("URM") faculty in general and women faculty of all races in STEM fields (“WSTEM”). UB is an active member of the PRODiG program in an effort to enhance the recruitment, hiring, and retention of underrepresented faculty.
The Visiting Future Faculty Program (VITAL) is an exciting and rewarding four-day program that brings promising doctoral scholars from all disciplines to the University at Buffalo. VITAL seeks to contribute to the growth of faculty from traditionally underrepresented populations in the United States, particularly from Indigenous, African American/Black, and Hispanic/Latinx backgrounds. VITAL scholars have the opportunity to present their work, engage with UB faculty and students, meet other scholars in the program, and experience the region’s many offerings. UB’s inaugural Visiting Future Faculty Week will take place from March 28 to April 1, 2022. Eligible students are ABD candidates in doctoral programs in any field who intend to pursue academic careers and who are available to visit UB during Visiting Future Faculty Week.
The University at Buffalo is pleased to announce it has joined the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity. NCFDD provides professional development, training, and mentoring for faculty members, postdocs and graduate students, and the University at Buffalo supports memberships for eligible faculty members. If you are interested, please visit our NCFDD page for more information.
These workshops were led by Dr. Anne Etgen, Professor Emerita in the Department of Neuroscience at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and nationally recognized expert in recruiting and retaining diverse faculty. We encourage this resource for all Department Chairs and faculty who plan to serve on search committees. Below are descriptions of the three workshops.
Presents evidence that workforce diversity is a driving force for excellence and innovation, and discusses factors that contribute to limiting diversity, including implicit or unconscious bias. Finally, describes evidence-based strategies that can overcome the bias in the faculty search process. Click here to view on UB Edge.
Outlines strategies that facilitate the academic success, promotion and retention of faculty. Topics discussed include strong mentoring programs, faculty cluster hiring (cohort model), activities and resources to reduce isolation, increase community building and networking, and to foster career, research, and professional advancement. Click here to view on UB Edge.
Discusses the role of departmental and institutional climate as a barrier to achieving faculty diversity. Climate comprises people’s shared perception of the quality, fairness and inclusivity of the environment in which they work. Improving departmental and institutional climate, with clear signals from leadership that diversity, equity and inclusion are core values, can enhance the work environment for all members of the academic community. Click here to view on UB Edge.
Diversity is essential to excellence in the University setting. This series of four videos illustrates why creating a plan for conducting a successful search is critical, as well as the importance of building an awareness of implicit bias and how to minimize its effects. Total running time: 20 minutes.
Excellence—embracing and exhibiting the highest level of quality in research, teaching and service—can be achieved only when diverse perspectives are engaged. This workshop, conducted by Anne M. Etgen, Professor Emerita of Neuroscience at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, illustrates why we recruit faculty for diversity and excellence, obstacles to achieving faculty diversity, how schemas affect the careers of women and underrepresented minorities, and what we can do to address these issues. Supplemental materials are provided to assist search committees during the faculty search process. Total running time: 1 hour and 40 minutes.
In recognition of the importance of mentoring to the success of faculty, the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, the Faculty Senate, two successive mentoring advisory committees, and other faculty collaborators, have joined together to create a policy and provide guidance for building an effective mentoring culture at the University at Buffalo. You will find training tools and resources designed to help departments build, implement, and manage mentoring programs either ongoing or in fledgling stages.
This workshop, led by Dr. Anne Etgen, Professor Emerita in the Department of Neuroscience at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and nationally recognized expert in recruiting and retaining diverse faculty,
outlines strategies that facilitate the academic success, promotion and retention of faculty. Topics discussed include strong mentoring programs, faculty cluster hiring (cohort model), activities and resources to reduce isolation, increase community building and networking, and to foster career, research, and professional advancement.
Since 2017, the University at Buffalo has participated in the Southern Regional Education Board’s (SREB’s) Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, a four-day conference that is the largest gathering of minority doctoral scholars in the nation. In addition to recruiting new faculty members, our membership provides access to a database of underrepresented doctoral scholars to help with the faculty search process. Please contact our office for more information.
The Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC) is a non-profit coalition of over 700 colleges, universities, hospitals, research labs, government agencies, and related non- and for-profit organizations, committed to diversifying the pipeline of faculty, staff, and executives in academia. Since UB is an institutional member of HERC, to access recruitment and retention resources, webinars, and other HERC community resources, visit this webpage to register for a HERConnect account.