IDEAL is a three-year nearly $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to seed gender and minority equity and institutional transformation academic S&E at leading universities in the northern Ohio region. Awarded to Dr. Lynn T. Singer, Deputy Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Case Western Reserve University it is a partnership with five regional public universities: Bowling Green State University, Cleveland State University, Kent State University, University of Akron and the University of Toledo.

GOALS

The goal of this innovative partnership grant is to seed institutional transformation at leading universities in the northern Ohio region by creating an institutional learning community that is empowered to develop and leverage knowledge, skills, resources and networks to enhance equity and inclusion at each university. IDEAL adapts and disseminates the successful academic leadership development methods developed by CWRU during its five-year ADVANCE IT initiative, Academic Careers in Engineering and Science (ACES) which continues at CWRU as ACES+.

The $3.5 million ACES grant created a model of institutional transformation, particularly in the areas of faculty recruitment, advancement, development, and retention policies, that improved accountability and effectiveness at the school/college and departmental level for women faculty and underrepresented faculty. ACES+ contuinues four of these innovative initiatives: Executive Coaching, Hotline Coaching, ADVANCE Opportunity Grants and the Summer Undergraduate Research Program for Minorities.

CHANGE LEADERS

During the three-year IDEAL project, each institution annually selects three Change Leaders who are S&E department chairs or emerging faculty leaders who evince qualities that suggest leadership potential - individuals who exercise formal or informal influence or who have the potential to be department chairs or assume duties as a dean or associate dean - to participate in the IDEAL leadership development program. Each Change Leader is supported by IDEAL with a $3000 stipend intended for faculty development purposes, and the implementation of the annual change projects.

The Change Leader Teams from the six partner institutions meet four times annually at leadership development sessions, and also confer with an IDEAL Team Coach twice annually. Each team develops a customized Annual Change Project with plans and actions for improving gender and underrepresented minority equity in S&E on its respective campus, with the implementation and sustainability of the plans aided by the Co-Director. Senior administrative leaders – presidents, provosts, deans – from each institution join their Change Leader teams at Plenary Conferences to learn about the institutional change projects.

RELATED SITES & RESOURCES

ACES+ Academic Careers in Engineering & Science
Faculty Development Council
Women Faculty Leadership Development Institute
Women Faculty of the School of Medicine

RELATED RESOURCES
CWRU Gender & Salary Study for Academic Year 2011-2012
Climate Surveys