When you think of mindfulness, a personal practice of deep breathing, meditation or pausing for reflection might come to mind. Expanding its use beyond the individual benefit to the collective to achieve systemic change and organizational equity is the focus of a prestigious National Science Foundation grant recently awarded to Washington University in St. Louis.
The university will receive a $3 million five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE-Institutional Transformation grant designed to address systemic barriers to intersectional gender and racial or ethnic equity for faculty in STEM (science, tech, engineering and math) fields. The programs funded through this highly competitive grant called AIM (Activating Intersectionality through civic Mindfulness) for Equity will launch several academic leader and faculty-focused initiatives, including the AIM Center for Faculty Equity. AIM for Equity’s new conceptualization of civic mindfulness is the innovation to driving organizational change at WashU, said Kia Caldwell, vice provost for faculty affairs and diversity and lead principal investigator of the grant. The impact of this grant is institutionwide as it will actively engage faculty and leaders in seven of WashU’s nine schools.
The NSF recognizes that systemic inequities may exist in areas such as policy and practice for women STEM researchers, particularly for those from historically racially/ethnically underrepresented groups. Those inequities may impede research productivity, delay advancement, create a culture of differential treatment and rewards, and impact well-being. The aim of NSF ADVANCE grants is to make faculty leadership more aware of these issues and create policies and processes that foster equity so they can work to create systemic changes that lead toward true transformation.
“A key component of WashU’s strategic plan is focusing on our people and supporting them with their academic, professional and life goals,” said Beverly Wendland, WashU provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. “The Aim Center for Faculty Equity and its associated programs are a prime example of that commitment in motion. I’m proud of the effort we’ve made so far to support everyone in our community, and I look forward to the positive changes that will come as a result of this funding.”
Aim for Equity Team
Kia Caldwell
Vice provost for faculty affairs and diversity, lead PI and director, AIM Center for Faculty Equity
Beverly Wendland
Provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, co-PI
Amy Eyler
Professor, Brown School, co-PI
Jeremy Goldbach
Masters & Johnson Distinguished Professor in Sexual Health and Education and associate dean for faculty affairs and equity, diversity, and inclusion, Brown School, senior personnel
Jen Heemstra
Chair and Charles Allen Thomas Professor of chemistry, Arts & Sciences, senior personnel
Aurora Kamimura
Assistant provost for inclusive excellence, co-PI and associate director, AIM Center for Faculty Equity
Diana Parra Perez
Assistant professor, Brown School, co-PI
Lori Setton
Lucy & Stanley Lopata Distinguished Professor and chair of biomedical engineering, McKelvey Engineering, senior personnel
Liliana Solnica-Krezel
Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor; head of developmental biology, WashU Medicine, senior personnel
Atia Thurman
Lecturer, Brown School; equity and inclusion fellow, Office of the Provost, senior personnel
Pamela Woodard
Chair, Department of Radiology; Elizabeth E. Mallinckrodt Professor of Radiology, WashU Medicine, senior personnel