Aspire: The National Alliance for Inclusive & Diverse STEM Faculty

UCSB joins 18 other universities across the nation in a three-year effort to develop inclusive faculty recruitment, hiring and retention practices. The Aspire: The National Alliance for Inclusive & Diverse STEM Faculty program, led by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and funded in part by the National Science Foundation, is intended to ensure inclusive teaching practices in STEM and that institutions increase the diversity of their STEM faculty. As part of the Institutional Change Initiative (IChange), UCSB will perform a comprehensive self-assessment of current practices and assets. It will then develop and implement plans to bring about change across all of its STEM programs.

In its application to the Aspire Alliance, UCSB identified the three main goals it would pursue:

• Train faculty in effective research mentoring and advising, and diverse epistemological approaches to STEM science, teaching, and learning.

• Increase diversity of faculty in STEM disciplines and departments.

• Improve routine climate assessment and diversity-related data awareness to inform culture, practice and policy change.

Visit their website for more information here.