ADVANCE Rising Tide Center to host fifth annual conference for women in academia

Women from Maine’s colleges and universities are invited to network and participate in discussions on career advancement Tuesday, May 17 in Bangor.

The University of Maine’s ADVANCE Rising Tide Center will host the “ADVANCING Women in Academia: 5th Annual Networking Conference” from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn.

The event will feature facilitated workshops and small-group discussions focused on work-life balance, supporting gender equality, effective networking, and developing grassroots advocacy groups to create and sustain institutional change.

“We’re delighted to be offering our fifth networking conference,” says Amy Blackstone, director of the ADVANCE Rising Tide Center. “Our partners and attendees include a wide range of academics from institutions throughout Maine and New England. We hope attendees will enjoy the chance to make new connections, strengthen existing networks, and work together toward advancing women in academia.”

Faculty and graduate students also are welcome to present in an informal poster session to share their work with colleagues.

Erin Kelly, a professor of work and organization studies at MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will offer the keynote. Kelly’s research recently was featured in “The Work Issue” of The New York Times Magazine.

One of the workshops offered will focus on diversity and supporting international students, who are an increasing presence on many university campuses, particularly in Maine.

Although international students bring with them talent and innovative ideas, they are not always included in developing and implementing initiatives seeking to enhance institutional diversity, according to UMaine Women in Academia, a group of graduate students and postdoctoral candidates, who will lead the discussion.

Workshop participants will discuss how diversity enriches the academic community and learn about strategies for recruiting and retaining international women to create an inclusive environment that fosters professional growth and productivity for all.

UMaine Women in Academia was established in 2015 to bring women and future higher education faculty from all disciplines together to discuss relevant issues, foster a supportive climate, and provide networking and mentoring opportunities for women across the academic pipeline and at every stage of career development.

The networking conference is free and open to the public. Registration is required and available online. A limited number of guest rooms will be available at a discounted rate for conference attendees. For more information, call the hotel at 262.0099.

The event is presented with support from the National Science Foundation and UMaine’s ADVANCE Rising Tide Center partners Maine EPSCoR, Maine Maritime Academy and Husson University.

The ADVANCE program is funded by the NSF and 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.

In fall 2016, the ADVANCE Rising Tide Center will become the UMaine Rising Tide Center. The center’s mission will expand to include women faculty from all disciplines with the goal of improving gender equality on campus and throughout the community.

More information about the program and networking conference is online.