Murray State Advance
ADVANCE Spring Break Camp
ADVANCE had the pleasure of offering its first ever Kids Camp open to children and dependents of MSU employees April 4-8 2022. Campers were able to enjoy ten different interactive educational experiences throughout the week led by Murray State faculty. These experiences gave the campers special insight into the specialties of each faculty member.
"Everything was great: my kid was happy with her experience and looked forward to going each day. Thank you for putting this together. I hope it is offered in the future."
"Honestly, I thought the camp was incredibly helpful and I was impressed with the educational activities that were provided!"
"Less stress with having to figure out who will care for them day to day or having to juggle childcare between my spouse and I throughout the day. It also allowed me to be available to meet with students, rather than cancelling meetings with them."
ADVANCE Adaptation: Leveling the Playing Field , Strategic Equity Initiatives at Murray State University
In a continuation of our ADVANCE work, Murray State University will adapt successful programs from institutions such as University of New Hampshire and University of Washington for use at MSU. Based on our 2017 Climate Survey, we know there are challenges that women STEM faculty face. Through MSU-LEARN, we will develop interactive theatre modules to address implicit bias in search, tenure and promotion processes. Through MSU-GROW, we will develop programs to improve the retention and advancement of women faculty. We will enhance work-life balance at MSU through MSU-LIVE strategies. This $1 million initiative is supported by the National Science Foundation.
Publication and Resources
- McCarthy M, Balthrop D, Fuller C, Kemp R, Waddill P, Zhang Q. Differences and Deficits Affecting Women in STEM Faculty at Murray State University. Poster Presented at EMBO | EMBL | HHMI Conference: Gender
Roles and their Impact in Academia; 2020 Oct 13-15; Virtual - McCarthy M, Balthrop D, Fuller C, Kemp R, Waddill P, Zhang Q. "Emotional Labor in Higher Education". 2021 STEM For All Video Showcase COVID, Equity, & Social Justice; 2021 May 11-18; Virtual. View presentation
- McCarthy M, Balthrop D, Fuller C, Kemp R, Waddill P, Zhang Q. "Interactive Theatre Addresses Implicit Bias In University Search and Tenure Processes". YouTube. 2020 Oct 9. Watch video
- McCarthy M, Balthrop D, Fuller C, Kemp R, Waddill P, Zhang Q. "Emotional Labor in Higher Education". YouTube. 2020 Nov 16. Watch video
- McCarthy M, Balthrop D, Fuller C, Kemp R, Waddill P, Zhang Q. "Achieving work-life balance for women in higher education". YouTube. 2020 Oct 14. Watch video
Contact Us
Project Team
Dr. Maeve McCarthy
Assistant Dean, Professor of Mathematics
Jones College of Science, Engineering & Technology
203A I&T Building
Dr. Maeve McCarthy, Interim Assistant Dean and Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, will serve as the Principal Investigator. She will lead the program, supervise the program coordinator and administrative assistant, and conduct some of the policy review. As the former Executive Director of the Association for Women in Mathematics, she is passionate about gender issues in STEM. Through her work as former Chair of the MSU Insurance and Benefits Committee and PI of the MSU Catalyst grant, she has strong relationships with the MSU administration.
Dr. David Balthrop
Dean, Professor of Theatre
Humanities and Fine Arts
Dr. David Balthrop, co-PI, is the Dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts and a Professor of Theatre. He brings valuable experience in theatre to the PI team that will enhance the MSU-LEARN program. His administrative experience and position on the Dean’s Council will be of great benefit. He served on the Internal Advisory Board for the MSU Catalyst grant.
Dr. Claire Fuller
Dean, Professor of Biological Sciences
Jones College of Science, Engineering & Technology
201A I&T Building
Dr. Claire Fuller, co-PI, is the Dean of the Jones College of Science, Engineering and Technology and a Professor of Biological Sciences. She served as a mentor circle facilitator and later co-PI on the MSU Catalyst grant. She brings extensive administrative experience to the project. She will be instrumental in advancing the changes identified as necessary by our project. Dr. Fuller is uniquely positioned to disseminate information amongst administrators and to begin to develop plans to implement changes based on findings.
Dr. Paula Waddill
Chair, Professor of Psychology
Psychology
212 Wells Hall
Dr. Paula Waddill, Chair and Professor of Psychology. She served as a co-PI on the MSU Catalyst grant. She has specialized training in research design and statistical analyses and has served as program evaluator for a variety of grants including projects funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice. She will work closely with the project evaluator, Mariko Chang, to apply her unique expertise in quantitative research to the design, implementation, and analyses of the quantitative survey and the existing institutional data.
Dr. Robin Zhang
Chair, Professor
Chair Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences
335 Blackburn
Dr. Robin Zhang, Chair and Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, co-PI, led a subcommittee to study dual-career policies at other institutions and their possible adoption at MSU. She served as a co-PI on the MSU Catalyst grant. She will coordinate MSU-LIVE with the program coordinator.
Committees and Announcements
- Bob Jackson, President
- Tim Todd, Provost
- Robert Pervine, Associate Provost
- David Eaton, Arthur J. Bauernfeind College of Business
- Claire Fuller, Jesse D. Jones College of Science, Engineering & Technology
- David Balthrop, College of Humanities & Fine Arts
- Tony Brannon, Hutson School of Agriculture
- Ashley Ireland,University Libraries
- Cami Duffy, Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity & Access
- Courtney Hixon, Human Resources
- Susana Bloomdahl, President's Commission on Diversity & Inclusion
- Melony Shemberger, Faculty Regent
- Karen Graham, University of New Hampshire
- Cristina Villalobos, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
- Joan Herbers, Ohio State University
- Mary Anne Holmes, University of Nebraska Lincoln
- Bobby Lee, West Kentucky Community & Technical College, Murray State Biology alumna
- Lauren Schmidt Martin, Appriss, Murray State Math/CS alumna
- Joyce Yen, University of Washington
ADVANCE 2017 Climate Study Recommendations
The ADVANCE PIs have made the following recommendations to Murray State based on the 2017 Climate Study:
- Improve perception that work/life balance is a priority at Murray State.
- Provide childcare facility for employees.
- Develop faculty support network by institutionalizing the mentoring circles through
the
Faculty Development Center. - Assess workload expectations, particularly regarding teaching and service.
- Increase salaries to be comparable to peer institutions and establish mechanism for
annual
increases. - Introduce optional bias training with a view to improving recruitment activities,
and tenure
& promotion processes. - Increase exposure to policies about extension of the probationary period (see Faculty
Handbook).