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Women in STEM

Our NSF ADVANCE Catalyst project, Women in STEM, aims to conduct a comprehensive institutional self-assessment to identify opportunities for enhancing the success and advancement of STEM faculty at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). This initiative will result in a multifaceted action plan designed to foster a more inclusive and supportive environment that empowers all faculty to thrive.

About the project

Women in STEM logo

The project's overarching goal is to evaluate the current environment and climate for women faculty in STEM at UNCW.

UNCW will use this approach to:

  • identify systemic action items to facilitate paths to success for women faculty in STEM disciplines
  • identify successful strategies and best practices from ADVANCE recipient institutions and other programs
  • establish a culture of belonging with input from diverse stakeholders to formulate a data-driven five-year action plan

The proposed Catalyst project will focus its lens of intersectionality on female STEM faculty, including those who are either military-affiliated or were first-generation college students, recognizing North Carolina's unique relationship with these identities. 

Expected Outcomes

The project goal will be achieved by:

  • analyzing existing and new data
  • reviewing UNCW's current policies and practices
  • including women faculty’s voices, experiences, and approaches to STEM.

Specifically, the project team will leverage the data that UNCW will collect with its 2024 Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) survey, will develop and administer a customized campus climate survey, and will conduct a series of focus groups and qualitative interviews to identify themes that go beyond the "what" to the "why" to identify paths to enhance the success of female STEM faculty.

The project will use data from the Offices of Institutional Research and Planning and Human Resources and promotion timelines of STEM faculty, paying particular attention to the intersection of gender with military-affiliated and first-generation status.

The team will also study successful strategies and approaches to support female STEM faculty from fellow ADVANCE institutions and the ADVANCE Resource Coordination network. UNCW's senior leadership supports these efforts and has agreed to provide access to data and resources to make this project successful.

National Science Foundation Funding Support

Our project is proudly supported by the National Science Foundation through their ADVANCE: Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions initiative. We have been awarded $299,497 to help drive this important work forward.

Meet the Team

Kate B. Nooner
Kate B.
Nooner

Kate B. Nooner

Associate Dean for Faculty, Policy, Research and Innovation

PROFILE
  • Dr. Kate Brody Nooner, Lead-Principal Investigator (PI)
    Senior Associate Dean for Faculty, Policy, Research and Innovation in the College of Science and Engineering
  • Dr. Ginger Rhodes, Co-PI
    Department of Mathematics & Statistics
  • Dr. Diana Ashe, Co-PI
    Department of English
  • Dr. Satlaj Dighe, Project Evaluator
    Watson College of Education

Additionally, we have two graduate students who are working on the project. 

Press

Advocacy in Academia: Kate Nooner leads project to promote UNCW faculty

WILMA

Contact Us

Kate Brody Nooner, PhD, ABPP

Phone: (910) 962-2571

noonerk@uncw.edu

Senior Associate Dean for Faculty, Policy, Research & Innovation in the College of Science & Engineering.

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