ADVANCE Project CREST

Project CREST

Changing Research Experiences, Structures, and (in)Tolerance through the Adaptation of Promising Equity Practices

We must do better to ensure an inclusive and equitable research community in higher education. Considering where power emerges and is realized means grappling with multiple dynamics in the academy that can impede the influence of our underserved, historically excluded, and marginalized community members. Though higher education is presumed to be the “great equalizer” (Chetty et al., 2017), diversity and equity within academic faculty ranks remains elusive (Stewart & Valian, 2018). Indeed, higher education remains a gendered and racialized organization (Britton, 2000, 2010; Miller & Roksa, 2019). This is why the ADVANCE Adaptation Program is so unique and imperative; the goal is not to just see what sticks in the kitchen sink of programs, but to purposefully adapt previously proven strategies.

Project CREST aims to transform UCCS through two primary initiatives by adapting practices from previous ADVANCE projects to: 

 Positively impact women’s research experiences and productivity

Change the research policies and evaluation structures within the institution to more fully support women’s research participation, and

Vigilantly mitigate biases within UCCS research spaces and research processes. Project CREST focuses on systemic reform efforts that will change the landscape of UCCS today and for the next generation of scholars.

Be sure to check out our feature in the UCCS Communique and view our activities through the second grant year in our CREST Fest 2023 Posters!

Initiative 1:

Build a Responsive and Inclusive Research Infrastructure

Based upon Montana State University’s ADVANCE Project TRACS we will:

Hire a Research Development Coordinator to help establish an inclusive research infrastructure. Meet Dr. Kelly McNear and learn how she can support your research activities!
Offer “mini grants” for women faculty and those from other underrepresented backgrounds in STEM and SBS
Host grant-writing bootcamps to provide dedicated time and instruction for creating successful grant submissions
Create and implement a targeted Research Network to provide ongoing support and mentoring for campus researchers. Learn more about the CREST Belayers, UCCS's own research networking group.

Initiative 2:

Reshape Research Policies, Practices, and Evaluation Structures

Use the WVU Dialogues dual-agenda technique to develop cohesion and inclusion among departments and co-create new annual review processes with each unit. Check out the Toolkit now!

Reimagine promotion and tenure documents in line with Seattle University’s ADVANCE Project
- Learn more about Scholarship Reconsidered: A UCCS RPT Think Tank

Revisit all research policies with an intersectional lens to ensure that they benefit everyone – also from SU’s ADVANCE
- See our inventory and report on campus awards along with our recommendation for improving their equity
Establish enduring sense-making opportunities using Georgia Tech’s ADEPT format to catalyze new habits, texts, and interactions that can help sustain and cultivate gender and racial equity
- View the campus participation in the Fall 2022 RPT Bias Literacy Workshops

Share Project CREST with your Colleagues!

Download Overview Here

The material on this site is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. 2117351. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Adapted ADVANCE Programs

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