About the ADVANCE Center
Overview
UH has one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation; yet women and especially women of color continue to be underrepresented in tenured and tenure track faculty roles in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and social/behavioral science (SBS) fields at UH. The Center for ADVANCING UH Faculty Success, created with a $3.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation, is working to increase the number of women and women-of-color faculty members in STEM/SBS fields, as well as make sure they have opportunities to move into leadership roles. The five-year ADVANCE institutional transformation grant award supports sustainable activities and programs that are part of a systemic effort to shape what UH scientists look like.
Organization
The UH ADVANCE grant is headed by President Renu Khator, who serves as the grant's Principal Investigator. Dr. Paula Myrick Short, UH Provost, serves as the Director for the Center for ADVANCING UH Faculty Success. Faculty Co-Investigators, Strategic Initiative Leaders, and Faculty ADVANCE Advocates support ADVANCE programming and projects at the department and college levels. Dr. Erika Henderson serves as the ADVANCE office Managing Director. The Center for ADVANCING UH Faculty Success is a component of the Office of the Provost, and successful ADVANCE initiatives have been institutionalized through this office.
STEM Departments
The Center for ADVANCING UH Faculty Success serves the grant's goal to substantially diversify ranked faculty at the University. However, STEM and SBS departments where women and women of color are currently underrepresented are the focus of grant initiatives. Twenty four departments from five colleges constitute the ADVANCE STEM fields at UH:
Leadership
The individuals below support the Center for ADVANCING UH Faculty Success as the investigator team, the external advisory board, the internal advisory committee, advocates, and staff.
| Name | ADVANCE Affiliation | University Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Renu Khator | Principal Investigator | Chancellor and President, University of Houston System, University of Houston |
| Paula Myrick Short | Center Director | Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Houston System, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, University of Houston |
| Erika Henderson | Managing Director | Assistant Provost, Faculty Recruitment, Retention, Equity and Diversity, University of Houston |
| Larry Pinsky | Faculty Co-Investigator | Professor of Physics, University of Houston |
| Holly Hutchins | Faculty Co-Investigator | Associate Professor of Human Development and Consumer Sciences, University of Houston |
| Joseph Tedesco | Faculty Co-Investigator | Dean, College of Engineering, University of Houston |