Collaborative Research: AGEP ACA: An HSI R2 Strategic Collaboration to Improve Advancement of Hispanic Students Into the Professoriate

This NSF AGEP Catalyst Alliance project addresses the important question of how to advance the role and increase the presence of members of traditionally underrepresented groups in STEM faculty positions. The particular focus of this project is to explore such challenges in the context of the often overlooked role played by institutions ranked Doctoral Universities – High research activity (R2) with strong research programs and holding a Minority Serving status. Composed of researchers and leaders from two Hispanic Serving R2 Institutions: Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) and New Mexico State University (NMSU), this NSF AGEP Catalyst Alliance team is using their expertise in promoting diversity to expand knowledge about the shared and specific challenges facing doctoral students and early career faculty in STEM field and building best practices to catalyze equitable and inclusive institutional transformation. The specific goals of the 2-year project are to identify the inequities in these institutions that prevent the advancement and success of faculty members from traditionally underrepresented groups and to establish a strategic alliance aimed at increasing the number of Hispanic and Native American faculty in STEM disciplines. This will be accomplished through a collection of coordinated efforts, inclusive of engagement of institutional leadership, collection and analysis of present and historical data, and development and deployment of pilot equity strategies. The project will culminate with the development of a comprehensive 5-year equity strategic plan to guide the foundation of a strong alliance working towards collective impact. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.