Advancement
Objective: Enhance faculty and leadership development opportunities.
- ADVANCE Leadership Institute. This semester-long Institute started in Spring 2013. The Institute has been enrolling 20-25 faculty members per year from both STEM and non-STEM disciplines. All tenured faculty, clinical faculty, and three-year lecturers employed at UTRGV, regardless of gender, college, or academic discipline are eligible to apply. The Institute provides professional development and leadership opportunities through a series of eight workshops and other events. In addition, the ADVANCE Leadership Institute includes a formalized mentorship program in which each participant is paired with a mentor (where possible, with the faculty member’s mentor of choice). Upon completion, Institute participants become eligible for the ADVANCE Administrative Fellows Program.
- ADVANCE Administrative Fellows Program. This Program started in the 2013-14 academic year. In addition to participating in professional development seminars, the ADVANCE Administrative Fellows assume the duties detailed by their respective administrators and are mainly be responsible for coordinating the initiatives/activities associated with a particular administrative office. In return for their service, these Fellows receive a 9-month stipend worth $4,000. Between 3-5 competitive Administrative Fellowships are expected to be awarded each year. This initiative is creating a larger pool of potential leaders who are confident in their leadership abilities after having "hands-on" experience.
- Associate to Full Professor Program. This year-long program started in fall 2015 to support the advancement of mid-career faculty and help them manage post-tenure career-life expectations. We encourage the participation of all tenured Associate Professors at UTRGV, regardless of gender, race/ethnicity, college, or academic discipline, who expect to apply for promotion to Professor in the next 3-5 years. The program consists of a series of interactive sessions/workshops on important topics, ranging from reviving your research agenda and managing career-life after tenure to securing internal and external funding, publishing, and networking for advancement. The participants are also matched with a mentor to support their career development (when possible, with the faculty member’s mentor of choice). Faculty who successfully complete the program receive supplemental travel funding to help support the presentation of research/creative work at a major academic/professional conference.
- Graduate Research Assistant Grant. This ADVANCE initiative is designed to support the advancement of women faculty in the STEM/SBE fields by funding graduate student research assistants for tenured and tenure-track women faculty in STEM/SBE disciplines. Tenure-track faculty are highly encouraged to apply. Wages for graduate research assistants (RA), at 20 hours/week, during the fall and spring semesters, with a maximum award of $10,000 ($5,000 each for each semester).
- Grant-Writing Workshops and Retreats. Grant-writing workshops and retreats where faculty members will work together to develop cross-disciplinary research teams. Faculty members learn about grant development and best practices for managing research teams and developing programmatic research.
Team: