The University of Maryland ADVANCE Program began in 2010 as a five-year, NSF-funded campus-wide project promoting institutional transformation with respect to the retention and advancement of women faculty in STEM. President Darryll Pines, then Dean of the College of Engineering, Provost Mary Ann Rankin, Associate Provost Elizabeth Beise, and Professor KerryAnn O'Meara served as PIs and Co-PIs, with Dr. O'Meara serving as director from 2010-2020. We quickly expanded to consider ways to improve work environments for all faculty, including programs for faculty from racially minoritized groups, professional-track faculty, and the development of equity-minded faculty leaders across identities and ranks. Since the end of the grant, the ADVANCE Program has been supported by the Provost’s Office/Faculty Affairs, each academic college, the Division of Research, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Graduate School, and the Office of Undergraduate Studies.
In 2020, the ADVANCE Program became a part of the Office of Faculty Affairs, and Dr. Linda Steiner, Professor of Journalism, was named Director. She held this role until 2023. During her tenure, the ADVANCE Program provided strategic advice and feedback on supporting faculty during COVID-19 and produced several research papers about institutional approaches to responding to the pandemic's impact on faculty members; participated in the NSF I-CHANGE Initiative, and continued to develop programs and events focused on equity and inclusion at UMD.
