Susan Gardner New Director of ADVANCE Rising Tide Center

Susan Gardner has been appointed director of the ADVANCE Rising Tide Center at the University of Maine, effective April 1, according to Susan Hunter, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. Hunter is the principal investigator for the five-year, $3.3 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that funds the Rising Tide Center.

Gardner, an associate professor of higher education and co-principal investigator of the grant, replaces Mary Madden, who has served as the center’s director since July 2011. Madden has rejoined the College of Education and Human Development, where she will lead a consortium of colleges and universities in a hazing prevention project.

The NSF ADVANCE program seeks to develop systemic approaches that can be institutionalized at higher education institutions to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and social-behavioral science careers. Programs sponsored through the Rising Tide Center include monthly workshops on topics such as promotion and tenure, annual department chair training workshops and a statewide networking conference, and the professional development grant program that supports new collaborations and activities to improve campus or departmental climate.

Other personnel changes at ADVANCE include the November 2012 appointment of Devon DeMarco as the ADVANCE faculty liaison. DeMarco is available to improve problem resolution by directing faculty to the proper university office, serving as a bridge between faculty and administrators to ensure that problems are resolved, and enhancing materials that explain resolution processes.

Now fully staffed, the ADVANCE Rising Tide Center is well poised to sustain the positive effects realized in the first two years of the project.