Faculty Advancement Seed Grants

Objectives

Duke University is committed to advancing faculty excellence by fostering an environment where all faculty can thrive, and the Office for Faculty Advancement (OFA) demonstrates that commitment by supporting all faculty and their academic programs. Faculty Advancement Seed Grants are intended to provide a financial start for novel, faculty-led initiatives in academic units (schools, departments, divisions, centers and institutes) that aim to promote a vibrant and inclusive academic community and cultivate networks for faculty to collaborate and form meaningful relationships. Successful seed grants are intended to have a positive impact on academic units and may continue beyond the scope of the award to become long-term initiatives.  

Guidelines and Theme

The Office for Faculty Advancement is pleased to announce the theme of the sixth cycle of the Faculty Advancement Seed Grant Program: “Strengthening Faculty Communities Through Innovative Engagement and New Connections.” Seed grant proposals will be accepted for review if they describe a project that seeks to address at least one of the following areas: 

1. A creative approach to strengthening social dynamics and relationships within and across faculty groups in departments and schools. 

• This covers all groups of faculty (including emeriti faculty) and colleagues with connections along lines of discipline, academic title, faculty rank, personal identity, shared interest, or any other relevant category.

2. Innovative initiatives to improve the academic culture or climate in departments, centers and schools. 

• This may include considering the culture in classrooms, labs, mentoring relationships, departmental practices and policies, etc.

3. New faculty groups and connections that foster thought, conversations and communities of practice across disciplines on topics relevant to the faculty experience. 

• This may include any topic that is important to faculty success and advancement throughout the faculty career lifespan.

Please note that this initiative does not fund research projects or research collaborations.

Proposals that are successful will seek to explore issues and approaches that are directly related to the stated guidelines of this RFP. Examples of eligible activities are: workshops and programs, faculty curricular activities, structured affinity groups, resource development, small group symposia, outside speakers, book clubs, etc. OFA will offer ‘office hours’ to provide proposal support and discuss proposal ideas prior to submission.

Eligibility

All regular rank faculty in all schools¹ and university institutes, initiatives and centers (UICs) are eligible to apply to this program as Principal Investigators (PI) (see FAQ page). Seed grant projects must include activities that focus on university departments, institutes, initiatives or centers. Please refer to the FAQ with questions related to unit eligibility.

^{1School of Medicine faculty holding primary or secondary appointments in a Basic Science or university department, institute, initiative or center are eligible to apply as Principal Investigator. Clinical faculty may participate as Co-PIs in partnership with a faculty member who meets the eligibility criteria to serve as Principal Investigator.} 

Funding

Seed grant awards typically range from $1,000 to $20,000. Faculty must be in good standing with the university at the time of submission and remain so throughout the project period. Funds may be revoked should this status change.

Proposal Submission Requirements

• A project narrative, including a detailed project description and rationale, targeted participants, start date, end date and metrics of success.
• A one-page budget with a brief justification. Funds may not be used to support faculty effort, staff effort travel, equipment or monetary distributions to support secondary or related projects. The involvement of work study students and other learners will be considered on a case-by-case basis. It is expected that funds will be spent in the 12-month period of the award cycle. 
• A project timeline that provides a projection of progress and benchmarks in the award cycle.
• A letter of support from the PI’s unit Director/Chair/Dean/Vice Provost addressing how the goals of the project are consistent with the unit’s long-term goals, as well as a plan for project support at the conclusion of the award cycle. For SoM clinical faculty who have secondary university affiliations which makes them eligible (see FAQ #4 below), a second letter is required from the secondary unit Director/Chair/Dean/Vice Provost.

Submission deadline: January 15, 2024
Please submit all proposals to the Office for Faculty Advancement using the following online submission form: [deadline has passed]

Award Timeline

Funding Notification: February 23, 2024 
Funding: March 2024
Project End: March 2025
Report Due: April 2025

Review Process

A review committee will evaluate proposals and make funding recommendations to the OFA Selection Committee.

Report

Recipients will complete a report at the conclusion of the funding cycle that summarizes project activities, assesses outcomes, details budget expenses and describes efforts to sustain or build upon the successes of the seed grant project. Seed Grant Principal Investigators will receive the template for the report at the end of the grant cycle.  

Contact

For questions about the Faculty Advancement Seed Grant Program, please contact Jennifer Goins, Senior Program Coordinator and Logistics Coordinator for the Duke Faculty Advancement Seed Grant Program (jennifer.goins@duke.edu).We invite you to attend OFA Seed Grant Office Hours to discuss project ideas:  

• October 30, 2:00-3:00 p.m. (virtual)
• November 13, 1:00-2:00 p.m. (virtual)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is the role of the PI? The PI is responsible for the execution of the award, including spending funds according to what was agreed upon in the submitted proposal and in the OFA award letter.  Any award modifications must be approved by OFA prior to the use of awarded funds. The PI is also responsible for completing the project by the end of the award cycle. 
2. Which items are not supported by the Faculty Advancement Seed Grant Program? Faculty effort, Staff effort (see below), travel or monetary distribution to support secondary or related projects are not allowable expenses. 
3. Will the Faculty Advancement Seed Grant Program fund research projects? No. The seed grant program is designed to build community within academic units at Duke. Projects may contain an element of scholarly work if it is required to accomplish the stated goals and outcomes of the proposal. Research proposals and proposals on topics unrelated to the Seed Grant theme will not be reviewed. For questions about support for research projects, please contact Duke Research and/or the Office of the Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies.
4. As a faculty member in the School of Nursing, am I eligible to apply for this program? Regular rank faculty in the School of Nursing are eligible to apply. Clinical Instructors may not be Principal Investigators, but may partner as a Co-PI on any submitted proposal. Please confirm your eligibility prior to submission.
5. As a faculty member in the School of Medicine, am I eligible to apply for this program? Faculty who hold primary or secondary appointments in a Basic Science or university department are eligible to apply.  Clinical faculty may participate as a Co-PI in partnership with a faculty member who meets the eligibility requirements to serve as a Principal Investigator. Please confirm your eligibility prior to submission.
6. As a faculty member in an institute, initiative or center, which ones make me eligible to apply for this program? Faculty are eligible if they are associated with the following university institutes, initiatives and centers through the Office of the Provost: Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute, Duke Global Health Institute, Kenan Institute for Ethics, Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Social Science Research Institute, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Rhodes Information Initiative, Science & Society and the Margolis Center for Health Policy.
7. I am a staff member. Am I allowed to be a PI? Staff may participate as a Co-PI in partnership with a faculty member who meets the eligibility requirements to serve as a Principal Investigator. Please confirm your eligibility prior to submission.
8. Is there a limit on the number of Co-PIs? PIs can appoint up to two co-PIs to help facilitate the project. Others involved with the project can be listed as team members.  
9. How many grants do you plan to award? We anticipate supporting up to 10 proposals in this cycle.
10. I am the director of a center or unit. Do I still need to provide a letter of support?  Yes, please include a letter of support from your Dean or Vice Provost.
11. Are there funding mechanisms for faculty who only hold clinical appointments in the School of Medicine or School of Nursing? Clinical faculty may be eligible for the following:

Office of the Provost:
Intellectual Community Planning Grant (ICPG)  
Duke Focus Program

School of Medicine:
SOM Funding Opportunities
Office for Research Mentoring
Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion 
Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI)

11. As a School of Medicine PI (basic sciences) do I have to pay indirect costs? SOM has indirect costs associated with grant expenditures. A waiver can be requested through the Dean.
12. Is alcohol an allowable expense? Please contact the Office for Faculty Advancement prior to purchase for approval.
13. Are faculty effort and staff salaries allowable expenses? Faculty effort and Staff salaries are not supported by the program due to the short-term nature of the funding mechanism and the potential conflict with research funding effort allocation. Faculty and Staff can be compensated for contributing their disciplinary expertise to a project through an honorarium or a supplemental payment if their contribution is a necessary part of the project design. 
14. Can I hire work study students or learners? The request to involve work study students and other learners will be reviewed by OFA within the context of the proposal and considered on a case-by-case basis. These hires must be approved by OFA before funds are used for their salaries. Reviewers will consider the role of students in the proposal, and determine if they will contribute skill sets (related to the project or administrative support) that are required for program success. Student contributions should not be tied to their stipend support or research/program requirements.  Please check with your business manager for current rate ranges.
15. Can a PI make adjustments/modifications to the budget during the project year? The PI may submit a formal request to OFA to modify a project’s budget during the funding period. The request must include a justification for the change, a modified project timeline, and must be submitted and approved prior to any project expenditures.
16. Are faculty required to have completed a form of climate training or a faculty short course to receive an OFA Seed Grant? Climate training is not required to receive an OFA Seed Grant. However, relevant trainings will be considered during the review process to assess project feasibility. All PIs are encouraged to share any completed trainings or curricular experiences relevant to their proposal. 
17. What are the types of deliverables or reports that will you expect from awardees? A final report describing the use of funds, the outcomes of the project, and a description of the engagement of the faculty, students, staff and community members involved with the project will be requested at the end of the award cycle. A report template for the submission will be provided.
18. Is it possible to access to funds beyond the project deadline? The availability to have extended use of funds is not guaranteed and may vary between seed grant cycles. The PI should submit a written request with a justification for extended access, as well as a timeline for spending and a modified budget. The request for extended use must be submitted and approved prior to any expenditures.

Arts Practice Faculty Network 

Leads: Augustus Wendell, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Art, Art History & Visual Studies; Bill Fick, Lecturing Fellow of Art, Art History & Visual Studies

Award cosponsored with Duke Arts 

Faculty, administrators and staff in many units across Duke engage in arts practice. The dispersed nature of this practice creates a challenging environment for developing genuine community and fellowship representing the arts at Duke. This project will support a university-wide Arts Practice Network, bridging units and bringing together a wide array of practitioners. The network will be built largely through social events, including informal monthly meetups, local guest speakers and a handful of higher-profile events. This mix of activities is aimed at creating a welcoming atmosphere for discovering and nurturing connections among arts practitioners at Duke. 

Building Academic Networks and Strengthening Faculty Communities in the Nicholas School of the Environment

Lead: Nicolette Cagle, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Sciences & Policy 

This project will address three needs in the Nicholas School of the Environment: creating spaces for positive faculty interaction; creating spaces for positive interaction among faculty and staff; and improving faculty mentoring of students, staff and others. Employing a data-driven and collaborative approach, the project includes themed field trips for faculty and staff, mentor training in faculty meetings, mentor training in biweekly lunch-and-learns, and special Tuesday events on the water or in the orchard.

Building a Community of Practice to Increase Representation in Evolutionary Anthropology

Leads: Brian Hare, Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology; Doug Boyer, Associate Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology; Elaine Guevara, Lecturer in Evolutionary Anthropology

Collaborators: Leslie Digby, Associate Professor of the Practice of Evolutionary Anthropology;

Increasing representation is vital to the health and success of the field of evolutionary anthropology, which is the study of human origins and variation. This project aims to build a strong community of practice among faculty to help achieve this goal. A summer program under development will support faculty engagement with undergraduates from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) as summer interns in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology. Project activities will enhance faculty engagement on a broad scale within the departmental community and specifically with the summer internship program. 

Building a Community-Based Intervention Science Network at Duke

Leads: Timothy Strauman, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience; Ann Brewster, Research Scholar, Social Science Research Institute

The dehumanizing impact of systemic structural racism on mental health is one of our nation’s greatest public health challenges. To achieve comprehensive mental health promotion, we need an approach that integrates and synthesizes disciplinary strengths with a systemic structural racism perspective on the social determinants of adolescent mental health. This project will establish a network of Duke University scholars whose collective expertise and commitment can help address this enormous problem. The network will become the first formally organized community-based intervention science entity at any North American university.

Convening a Thought Community for Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Lead: Kristen Stephens, Associate Professor of the Practice in the Program of Education

The Program in Education shares important links with the Sanford School of Public Policy and the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience. This project aims to cultivate a “thought community” among faculty in these three Duke entities, and perhaps others, where undergraduate interest and inquiry consistently intersect. The goals are to explore ideas, perspectives and practices across disciplines; facilitate problem-solving around critical issues in education; enhance collegiality; connect undergraduates with one another and potential faculty mentors; and reconnect with Duke alumni and retired faculty. Intellectual networking events will help bring faculty, staff, students and alumni together.

Expanding Our Community: Creative Collaborations Across Disciplines and Between Scholars and Publics

Lead: Laura Florand, Senior Lecturer of Romance Studies

Collaborator: Lou Brown, Senior Research Scholar at the Franklin Humanities Institute

Award cosponsored with Duke Arts 

In collaboration with the Forum for Scholars and Publics at Duke, this project seeks to bring together faculty and staff who are engaged with the Forum and are interested in the community-connection work at the heart of its mission. Participants will gather in spaces that create opportunities for an exchange of ideas and deepen connections with local artists, entrepreneurs and activists. Faculty gatherings will be anchored in engagements with the community that both position faculty scholars as learners from their community and engage them in low-stakes collaborations that might provide inspiration for future projects.

Increasing Neurodiversity Competency of Faculty at Duke

Leads: Geraldine Dawson, William Cleland Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience; Tara Chandrasekhar, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; Marika Coffman, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Forms of neurodivergence are often under-recognized, misunderstood or under-resourced in a university setting. Building on work led by the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development and Duke Neurodiversity Connections, this project seeks to foster a community of faculty that feels comfortable incorporating principles of neurodiversity competency into its day-to-day work. Activities include a needs assessment to provide input into the nature and type of training needed to promote neurodiversity at Duke; workshops and materials informed by the assessment; and evaluations at the project’s start and conclusion.

Local Listening Series

Lead: Sophia Enríquez, Assistant Professor of Music

Award cosponsored with Duke Arts 

The Department of Music faces the challenge of responding to nationwide calls for a more equitable and justice-based music curriculum. This project will engage faculty by launching a series of “Local Listening” lunchtime performances of Durham-based and campus-based performing groups in an informal, celebratory environment. The department recently proposed a new minor path of study that is listening-focused, which will serve students who may not have classical training. The Local Listening series will help promote the new minor path and put its values into practice, exposing students and faculty to a more diverse representation of music-making practices in our communities.

Mentoring Partnerships: Building Strength and Relationships Between Nursing Faculty and Clinical Instructors

Leads: Amie Koch, Associate Clinical Professor in the School of Nursing; Susan Gower, Consulting Associate in the School of Nursing; Vickey Keathley, Clinical Associate in the School of Nursing

The School of Nursing is negatively impacted by the nursing workforce shortage and burnout by not having consistent clinical instructors to assist in teaching nursing students. Bringing nurse clinical instructors (CIs) and nursing faculty together through a mentorship program will promote communication and help bridge the didactic and clinical gap. This project will identify successful strategies and operations of faculty mentorship for CIs. Through virtual and in-person connections, CIs and nursing faculty will build stronger relationships. Maintaining consistent CIs, as well as improving recruitment and retention of CIs, will help ensure a more reliable learning experience for students. 

Narrative Medicine: Passages, Practices and Pedagogies

Leads: Jehanne Gheith, Associate Professor of Slavic Languages and Literature; Sneha Mantri, Assistant Professor of Neurology

Narrative medicine is a growing subdiscipline of medical humanities that incorporates literary, visual and performance arts into health education and practice. While courses have been developed at the undergraduate and graduate/professional level, there is a need for faculty development in this area. This project will expand the Duke Narrative Medicine Network across the university as well as the health system. Building on efforts by the Health Humanities Lab and the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities and History of Medicine, this “practices and pedagogies” expansion will bring together academics and clinicians for a series of in-person and online trainings.

Promoting Collaborations and Training Opportunities for Emerging Leaders in Implementation Science

Leads: Heather King, Assistant Professor in Population Health Sciences; Leah Zullig, Professor in Population Health Sciences

Collaborator: Megan Oakes, Senior Research Program Leader, INTERACT

The field of implementation science continues to expand, resulting in a need to promote education and training opportunities for faculty, students, trainees and staff so that they are equipped with skills to support their career development. The Implementation Science Research Collaborative (INTERACT), housed in the Department of Population Health Sciences, includes faculty, staff and students/trainees. The project will include several activities and events aimed at strengthening the student/trainee relationship with faculty by fostering new training and collaboration opportunities for staff, students and trainees.

Rise Above the Research Silos: All Roads Lead to China

Leads: Alex Zhang, Archibald C. and Frances Fulk Rufty Research Professor of Law; Shitong Qiao, Ken Young-Gak Yun and Jinah Park Yun Research Scholar Professor of Law

This project seeks to engage faculty across schools by fostering intellectual dialogue and encouraging knowledge transfer on topics related to Chinese law and policy. Monthly in-person workshops and a national transdisciplinary research conference on law and policy in China will include people from a range of disciplines such as law, political science, social science, the humanities, data science, computer science and environmental studies. The longer-term objective is to help create a platform that motivates academics to investigate and apply research frameworks, theories, methodologies and techniques, as well as data and other types of information resources, from different disciplines to challenges in their own fields.

School of Nursing Teaching for Equity Fellows Alumni Affinity Group

Leads: Kara McGee, Associate Clinical Professor in the School of Nursing; Jacquelyn McMillian-Bohler, Assistant Clinical Professor in the School of Nursing; Malinda Teague, Assistant Clinical Professor in the School of Nursing

This project will create an affinity group for Teaching for Equity Fellows faculty alumni at the School of Nursing. The goal is to renew faculty commitment to advancing equitable teaching approaches and continuing to develop skills in engaging a diverse group of students. The affinity group will participate in professional development activities aimed at specific skills and strategies to create an inclusive culture for all learners. There will also be collaboration opportunities and networking among faculty. An important outcome will be a community of practice on advancing equitable teaching practices.

Strategies and Practical Approaches in Research and Collaboration (SPARC) Initiative for Algorithmic Bias Detection and Mitigation

Lead: Michael Cary, Jr., Elizabeth C. Clipp Term Chair of Nursing 

Algorithmic bias is often described as “systemic and repeatable errors in a computer system that create unfair outcomes.” It has real-world implications that manifest broadly in areas such as employment, housing and healthcare. Many emerging methods are being utilized to mitigate algorithmic bias, and ultimately reduce health inequities, yet gaps remain in development and implementation. This project will bring together Duke faculty colleagues and other experts from different disciplines to discuss harmful bias and create innovative training programs to eliminate bias in algorithms that are used to make decisions and target resources that affect patient care.

Building a Community of Practice for Statistics and Data Science Education Researchers

Lead: Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel, Professor of the Practice of Statistical Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 
Co-Lead: Yue Jiang, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Statistical Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

This project aims to provide venues to discuss current literature and generate ideas for the creation of scholarly works, as well as for experience-sharing and group mentoring. There will be three types of engagements for professors of the practice in the Department of Statistical Science: journal clubs, seminars and lunches. The journal clubs will also be open to undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs and other faculty members in the department. The seminars will be open to an even broader group of individuals, including faculty and students with similar interests in statistics, data science, mathematics and computing education.

Building in Justice at the School of the Environment

Lead: Elizabeth Shapiro-Garza, Associate Professor of the Practice of Environmental Policy & Management, Nicholas School of the Environment
Co-Lead: Nicolette Cagle, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Sciences & Policy, Nicholas School of the Environment

This initiative will build awareness among Nicholas School faculty and staff of the roots and manifestations of environmental injustice and the strategies being employed to counter these issues, as well as the relevance of environmental injustice to the school’s mission and daily work. It will also strengthen the sense of community and shared vision and purpose. Activities include incorporating the environmental justice framework into existing efforts by including relevant speakers in existing seminar series, facilitating focused discussions during faculty and staff meetings, centralizing promotion of related events on campus, and creating novel learning and community-building opportunities through a panel discussion series and field visits to communities experiencing and contesting environmental injustice.

Computational Biology Reading Group

Lead: Matthew Hirschey, Associate Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology & Cancer Biology, School of Medicine
Co-Lead: Akshay Bareja, Assistant Professor, School of Medicine

The Duke Molecular Physiology Institute (DMPI) is home to a wide range of biologists, from bench scientists to statisticians. Members’ varying computational backgrounds can be a barrier to collaborative engagement with the more quantitative aspects of biological research. This project’s goal is to lower the barrier to participation through a reading group that will equip participants with foundational data science, statistical and computational biology skills and knowledge. Welcoming participation by the wider Duke community and beyond, the group will meet every other Wednesday morning, both in person at the DMPI and online, to work through relevant books.

Duke STEM Coffee Conversation Corps

Lead: Nicolette Cagle, Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and Senior Lecturer in Environmental Sciences & Policy, Nicholas School of the Environment

Research suggests that the unique culture of STEM disciplines can make the climate unwelcoming and exclusionary, lagging behind other disciplines in cultivating a diverse community of scholars and practitioners. The Nicholas School of the Environment, in cooperation with the departments of biology, chemistry, engineering, and evolutionary anthropology, will launch a peer-to-peer initiative to create a more inclusive community among faculty for STEM units across campus. The Coffee Conversations program aims to enhance faculty members’ professional socialization, while cultivating a common set of values and beliefs for the good of the whole community, to help develop a more inclusive climate.

Exploring the Person You Mean to Be

Lead: Nan Jokerst, J. A. Jones Distinguished Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering

In the Pratt School of Engineering, students primarily have interactions with faculty in the classroom. While instructors attempt to create meaningful relationships with their students, this effort can be difficult for those who teach large classes. Students are challenged to find a sustained way to connect with their instructors that is not solely through attending office hours. To address this challenge, this project will facilitate a book club between Pratt faculty and undergraduate students. The aim is to help bridge gaps and address misconceptions that students and faculty may have of each other, and to create more spaces for intercultural dialogue.

Exploring Race in Global Humanities

Lead: Mark Hansen, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Literature, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

The Literature Program currently includes a number of faculty who work on issues of race, but no one specializes in African diaspora or African-American culture. This has sparked a series of conversations about how the departmental culture is affected by this absence. Building on initiatives the Literature Program has begun, a new speaker series in race studies, co-curated by faculty and graduate students, will bring in innovative scholars and offer an ongoing forum for exchange of ideas among faculty and students in the program as well as the broader Duke community across the humanities and the social sciences.

Faculty-Student (FaSt) Math Series

Lead: Anna Nelson, William W. Elliott Assistant Research Professor  of Mathematics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Co-Lead: Margaret Regan, William W. Elliott Assistant Research Professor of Mathematics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

This project aims to improve the Department of Mathematics’ climate among faculty and students. Building on a student-led math social club that encourages discussion among interested members of the Duke community, the FaSt Math Series will include workshops on equitable teaching practices and language; invited speakers who will discuss common diversity and inclusivity issues within the mathematics community; and events such as social teas, seminars and discussions to facilitate community-building and establish a sense of belonging. Faculty and students connected to the department can build their understanding of what it means to work toward an equitable environment.

Fostering an Integrated Faculty-Staff Community Through Shared-Purpose Workshops

Lead: Christine Payne, Yoh Family Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, Pratt School of Engineering
Co-Lead: Crystal Chapman, Director of Human Resources and Faculty Affairs, Pratt School of Engineering

The Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science (MEMS) will undertake a series of four faculty-staff workshops to provide interactive training in areas that are common to both groups: administrative activities; diversity, equity, inclusion and community; work-life balance; and campus resources beyond the classroom. The goal is to create a shared experience that enhances training and provides an opportunity to create meaningful connections between faculty and staff. This project will be evaluated and shared through a final report to all MEMS staff and faculty as well as stakeholders in the Pratt School of Engineering.

Hybrid Cultures and the History of Christian Innovation

Lead: Polly Ha, Associate Professor of the History of Christianity, Divinity School

In 2021, the Divinity School launched a hybrid version of its MDiv program that includes residential and online components of instruction. This project will create a wider historical context through seminars and discussion for reflecting on the longer-term implications of this new program, including the opportunities and challenges it presents and seeks to address. By creating structured spaces for inclusive, faculty-led participation and discussion, the project will help build unity and cohesion within the school and empower creative thinking throughout the MDiv program’s transition to hybrid models of learning.

Improving Departmental Climate and Building Community at DUSON Through Increasing Cultural Intelligence

Lead: Michelle Webb, Assistant Clinical Professor, School of Nursing
Co-Lead: Brigit Carter, Clinical Professor, Associate Dean of Diversity & Inclusion, School of Nursing

Building on work done within the Duke University School of Nursing (DUSON) community as part of its Racial Justice Task Force initiatives, this project will focus on increasing cultural intelligence — defined as the capability to work effectively across cultural differences — as a means of navigating the growing cultural diversity within the school and promoting inclusivity as a proxy for building a stronger sense of community. The education and training for faculty and staff will include three sequential workshops that are designed to be highly interactive through practical application exercises, self-reflection activities, case studies and small group work.

Leadership in the Lab

Lead: Scott Compton, Associate Professor in Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, and Psychology & Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Co-Lead: Alifia Hasan, Research Practice Manager, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine

This three-part project will begin with a needs assessment to allow staff and faculty in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences to provide direct input into the nature and type of trainings needed to promote departmental community. It will continue with workshops informed by the assessment and focused on leadership. Through interactive sessions, participants will learn methods to improve the performance of their teams and enhance collaboration, and they will practice applying their skills through simulations. Evaluations at the start and conclusion will assess the project’s efficacy and guide future directions.

Team-Building Across Lines of Difference: Building Student and Faculty Capacity for Inclusive Group Work

Lead: Catherine Admay, Senior Lecturer, Sanford School of Public Policy
Co-Lead: Asher Hildebrand, Associate Professor of the Practice, Sanford School of Public Policy

A hallmark of Sanford’s MPP curriculum is PUBPOL 804, taken by all students. The experiential learning course aims to teach students how to work in teams, but it offers minimal formal instruction on the subject. This project seeks to create a more inclusive school community through a customized training module on working together across differences. The module will combine a scenario-based theatrical exercise with structured student reflection and rigorous evaluations. Afterward, the module will be customized and presented to Sanford faculty, enabling them to deliver the module independently after the training.

Writing Group for Latinx Faculty

Lead: Cristina Salvador, Assistant Research Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Co-Lead: Cecilia Márquez, Hunt Family Assistant Professor of History, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Inspired by the Writing and ReseArch Productivity (WRAP) Group for Black Faculty, this project will create a writing group of Latinx junior faculty members. The goal is to build community and support the writing productivity of Latinx faculty in order to help promote, retain and recruit diverse faculty. Meeting once a week to write as a group, faculty will work on their respective projects alongside one another, or they can join virtually if they’re not on campus. In addition, there will be two intensive, weekend-long writing retreats, where members will participate in workshops on writing productivity, spend time accomplishing their writing goals, and build community.

Art, Art History and Visual Studies Anti-Racist Pedagogy Forum

Lead: Pedro Lasch, Research Professor of Art, Art History and Visual Studies, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences
Co-Lead: Beverly McIver, Professor of the Practice of Art, Art History and Visual Studies, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

This forum will convene monthly during 2021-2022 for presentations and discussions of themes proposed by AAHVS graduate students, faculty and teaching staff. Themes will address one or more of the following goals: share anti-racist methodologies and strategies already in use; identify opportunities to incorporate anti-racist pedagogies into teaching practices; and identify areas in AAHVS curricula in which pedagogies and approaches to disciplinary content can be implemented or augmented.

Belonging While Black at Duke Book Club: Inclusion and Professional Advancement

Lead: Fred Boadu, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering
Co-Lead: Arnetta Girardeau, Copyright and Information Policy Consultant, Duke University Libraries

This project will engage in an exploration of inclusion and professional advancement issues faced by Black faculty and staff. “Belonging While Black at Duke” will encourage members to build bridges with each other during virtual discussions on the themes of resilience, intersectionality, professional advancement and Black men in society.

Emerging Leaders in Genetics and Genomics: Inclusion and Professional Advancement

Lead: Don Fox, Associate Professor of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology, School of Medicine

To address racial disparities in biomedical faculty and increase scientific innovation, a symposium Duke is planned which will feature emerging leaders in the broad field of genetics and genomics. This cohort-based approach to faculty recruitment is a proactive approach to retain and support promising academic scientists.

Breaking Research Barriers: Conversations to Ensure Racial Justice and Equity in Research Practices

Lead: John Myers, Instructor, School of Nursing
Co-Lead: Christin Daniels, Assistant Dean for Research Development, School of Nursing

The goal of this project is to raise awareness of racial justice and equity at each component of the research lifecycle by developing a streaming podcast, “Breaking Research Barriers.” This monthly podcast will consist of conversations with research leaders to elicit actionable and applied strategies to ensure racial justice and equity in clinical research.

Building Bridges in Beaufort: A Shoebox Lunch Series to Connect Faculty and BIPOC Community Leaders

Lead: Zackary Johnson, Associate Professor of Biological Oceanography and Marine Biology, Nicholas School of the Environment

This project seeks to establish new connections between the Duke University Marine Lab and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) community leaders in Beaufort, NC. A monthly lunch-and-learn for all participants will be supplemented by a final all-hands meeting during Black History Month for a shared meal and storytelling. Invitees, format and assessment metrics will be refined through an initial development period.

Building an Inclusive, Anti-Racist Knowledge Community Among Faculty, Staff and Students in the New Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program

Lead: Sarah Jean Barton, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine
Co-Leads: Barbara Hooper, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine; Tomeico Faison, Instructor of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine; Cambey Mikush, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery

This project will establish a Coalition for Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity chapter at Duke. Two graduate assistants will lead the development and implementation of the chapter, which will contribute to national efforts to create a more diverse workforce in occupational therapy and local efforts to foster interprofessional dialogue and community engagement.

Celebrating Diverse Scholars: Promising Practices for PhD Students

Lead: Charlotte Clark, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Sustainability, Nicholas School of the Environment
Co-Leads: Anne Derouin, Professor of Nursing, School of Nursing; Minna Ng, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Psychology and Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences; Billy Pizer, Professor of Public Policy, Sanford School of Public Policy

This new course is a dedicated space for PhD students to expand their awareness of the contributions of professionals in their field who have an identity different from their own, are from a historically underrepresented identity for their field and/or engage in work on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. The course will enhance academic communities and support students and research collaborators through culturally-responsive scholarship and teaching, and will provide a space for recognition, inclusion and equity among peers.

Center for Documentary Studies Anti-Racism Instructor Preparatory Academy

Lead: Christopher Sims, Undergraduate Education Director, Center for Documentary Studies
Co-Lead: Michael Betts, II, Director of Continuing Education, Center for Documentary Studies

The Anti-Racism Instructor Preparatory Academy will draw on expertise from the Center for Documentary Studies and its network of community partners, artists and activists. Pulling from case studies, testimonials from students and instructors, the creative energy and feedback of artists and conversations with communities, participants will develop tools to build syllabi which reflect all makers and are equipped with the skills to facilitate contentious conversations among their students ensuring their classroom and research practices are equitable and anti-racist.

Confronting Racism and Bias in Health Education Programs Using Trigger Films

Co-Leads: Margory Molloy, Associate Professor of Nursing, School of Nursing; Angela Richard-Eaglin, Assistant Professor of Nursing, School of Nursing

Collaborators: Nicole Blodgett, Assistant Professor of Nursing; Valerie Howard, Professor of Nursing; Beth Phillips, Associate Professor of Nursing; Kathy Andolsek, Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health, School of Medicine; Andrew Spector, Associate Professor of Neurology, School of Medicine

The goal of this project is to mitigate racism and bias-influenced outcomes in health professions education programs through interprofessional collaboration. Participation in this project can empower all faculty, instructors, and other interprofessional health professions educators (HPEs) to act as upstanders, or someone with integrity and courage who recognizes when something is wrong, acts to make it right, and hopefully prevents it from happening again. To assist in this process, the following will be developed and implemented: 1) develop an educational toolbox, including a training manual, and 2) conduct workshops using didactic education, trigger films, and simulation. Trigger films are short educational video vignettes that illustrate a specific theme and focus on social guidance themes that engage the affective domain. Newly created scenarios will present a social or practice issue intended to trigger a response by the viewer, and initiate participant reflection and discussion by highly trained facilitators. These tools will guide standardization and sustainability of a proposed educational program.

Confronting Racism and Bias: Turning the Lens Inward

Lead: Don Taylor, Director of the Social Science Research Institute and Professor of Public Policy, Sanford School of Public Policy
Co-Leads: Patricia Garrett-Peters, Research Scientist, Social Sciences Research Institute; Charmaine Royal, Professor of African and African American Studies, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences; Jessica Sperling, Evaluation and Engagement Lead, Social Science Research Institute

This project seeks to provide a holistic and comprehensive approach to confronting racism and bias by combining four unique learning experiences into a year-long integrated learning series. Designed to address participants’ understanding of racism and bias at the individual, interpersonal and institutional levels of change, the series will be piloted and assessed with faculty, staff and affiliates of Duke’s Social Science Research Institute.

Creating and Sustaining an Anti-Racist Culture in the Duke Physics Department

Lead: Joshua Socolar, Professor of Physics, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences
Co-Lead: Phillip Barbeau, Associate Professor of Physics, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

This project seeks to improve the department’s collective ability to recognize racism within its walls and respond to it effectively through a series of events. The events will bring department members together for education and training in developing a climate promoting anti-racist principles, and will train faculty to lead future sessions.

Decolonizing the Curriculum: Building Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Lead: Anne-Maria Makhulu, Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

The Department of Cultural Anthropology will conduct a year-long effort to promote diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging across its faculty and graduate program. This work will involve reevaluating internal policies and procedures through an equity lens to ensure that all voices are heard and that everyone has the resources to work sustainably in the department. The department will offer workshops and trainings, provide fee waivers for graduate students from historically marginalized communities and rethink the graduate curriculum.

Developing Faculty Excellence in Evolutionary Anthropology: Toward Anti-Racism in Teaching and a More Inclusive Departmental Climate

Lead: Susan Alberts, Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences
Co-Lead: Elaine Guevara, Assistant Research Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

The aim of this project is to advance faculty skills, develop an enhanced anti-racist curriculum and foster a more inclusive and equitable culture in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology. A new working group of faculty, postdocs and graduate students will develop flexible teaching modules on topics including race and scientific racism. The group will also convene a departmental forum for seminars from invited experts, reading groups and discussions about race and racism in the discipline and the academy.

Identity and Computing Lecture Series: Understanding Racism and Bias in Computing

Lead: Nicki Washington, Professor of the Practice of Computer Science, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences
Co-Lead: Xiaowei Yang, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

To provide more opportunities for Computer Science students, faculty and staff to collectively learn about racism, bias and their impact on the discipline (its environment and technology) the “Identity and Computing Lecture Series” will include a department-specific workshop and a series of invited talks from experts on various topics of identity, racism, bias and their impact in the field.

Increasing Racial Equity in the Thompson Writing Program Writing Studio

Lead: Eliana Schonberg, Associate Professor of the Practice in the Thompson Writing Program, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences
Co-Lead: Aaron Colton, Lecturer in the Thompson Writing Program, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences

Writing Studio consultants are faculty, graduate students and undergraduates who meet with Duke writers for discussions of any aspect of their writing. To deepen consultants’ knowledge of anti-racist theory and to expand their application of anti-racist pedagogy, the Writing Studio will host three scholars on race, writing centers and writing pedagogy to conduct virtual seminars with Writing Studio consultants.

Building Connections Between Duke International Development Faculty

Lead: Cory Krupp, Professor of the Practice of Public Policy, Sanford School of Public Policy

The Duke Center for International Development (DCID) will host a half-day gathering for faculty across the university who work on international development research and projects. Aims are to share best practices, find opportunities for collaborative work, discuss challenges, and formulate strategies for mitigating them. To move the work of this gathering forward, DCID will host a monthly breakfast or lunch series in 2020-21. The project’s goals are to build a strong network of development scholars, sustain ongoing opportunities for collaboration, establish a regular meeting series, and develop best practices to be disseminated through a workshop or other product to share with the community.

Community-Engaged Mentored Research

Lead: Amy Anderson, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Education, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Kathy Sikes, Senior Fellow, Duke Service-Learning, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

This project will bring together faculty who are mentoring undergraduates in community-based research. Faculty will engage with one another and with outside guests to share their experiences and identify quality dimensions of practice in their work. The group will create a publication and web presence through Duke Service-Learning highlighting examples of quality practices and providing a self-assessment tool for interested faculty to use. Members will document collective challenges, identify resources, and determine additional topics of interest such as ethics of engagement, participatory scholarship, and collaborative grant writing.

Exploring Racial Equity in the Context of Research Libraries

Lead: Kimberly Burhop-Service, Director of Library Human Resources, Duke University Libraries

Duke Libraries’ staff are dedicated to collaborating with users to achieve their learning objectives and research goals. Therefore, this project will send 20 library staff members to attend the Racial Equity Institute’s Phase 1 training. This will be the first part of an initiative to explore the role of a research library in building communities, promoting understanding, and maintaining dialogue on issues of equity. The two-day training is designed to help participants understand racism in its institutional and structural forms. After the training, each participant will complete an evaluation, make recommendations, and propose next steps.

Faculty Working Group on Reckoning

Lead: Don Taylor, Professor of Public Policy, Sanford School of Public Policy; Director, Social Science Research Institute

Anne Whisnant, Director of Graduate Liberal Studies, The Graduate School

Jay Pearson, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Sanford School of Public Policy

Wesley Hogan, Research Professor, John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute; Director, Center for Documentary Studies

Val Gillispie, University Archivist, Duke University Libraries

This working group’s primary goal is to encourage faculty to talk together in ways that will stimulate research collaborations aimed at discovering Duke’s past, and to use this knowledge to improve their shared future. Faculty will discuss their ideas through a series of lunches and dinners; pursue archival research projects; develop seminar opportunities to share what they have learned with other faculty, students, and staff; and draft a curriculum for faculty climate improvement. Duke faculty are the primary focus, but the broader reckoning movement will include staff, students, alumni, and Durham residents.

Inclusion and Power Dynamics

Co-lead: Nicole Schramm-Sapyta, Associate Professor of the Practice, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences

Co-lead: Kathryn Dickerson, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine

Co-lead: Melissa Segal, Senior Business Manager, Neurobiology, School of Medicine

Co-lead: Shabnam Hakimi, Postdoctoral Scholar, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences

Colleen Bauer, Program Coordinator, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences

Katharine Neal, Director of Communications, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences

Dana Ripperton, Program Coordinator, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences

Over the past two years, the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences has hosted a workshop series on inclusion and power dynamics that has served more than 460 people across the university and health system. Faculty, staff, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows have engaged with topics related to the unique power dynamics of a research environment and the ways that members of our community are impacted by that power structure. For the coming year, this group will offer workshops and training in skills that promote inclusion; convene conversations with experts and leaders at Duke to share best practices; and create affinity groups to support each other and share resources for improving workplace culture.  Duke faculty are the primary focus, but the broader audiences may include staff, students, and postdoctoral fellows.

Racial Justice and Equity in Romance Studies

Lead: Saskia Ziolkowski, Assistant Professor of Romance Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Many faculty in Romance Studies have participated in Duke’s year-long Teaching for Equity Fellowship program, and many work on racial justice in their research. Since the faculty are motivated to deepen their understanding of equity and racial justice on multiple fronts, they are coming together to discuss research, teaching, and campus culture and to learn from each other. This seed grant project will support two events. The first will provide a three-hour forum for members of the department to discuss equity in their teaching, department, and work. The second event, open to the public, will showcase the department’s work that is devoted to race and equity. Afterward, discussions will continue in faculty meetings and include a focus on how to move forward.

Reading Between the Lines Book Club

Co-lead: Alicia Bolden, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health, School of Medicine

Co-lead: Lewis Hutchison, Jr., Assistant Dean, School of Law

This project will present an opportunity for faculty across campus to discuss and appreciate differing cultures and backgrounds, current events, and personal reflections through fictional and nonfictional narratives. The book club aims to encourage reading, discussion, and reflection on critical topics such as race, immigration, and gender identity, and to increase appreciation for different perspectives and interpretations. The initial books and their related discussion themes are Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran (immigration), Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (race and criminal justice reform), and This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Franke (gender identity). Co-funded by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in the School of Medicine

Stammtisch

Lead: Nicole Elizabeth Barnes, Assistant Professor of History, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Nayoung Aimee Kwon, Associate Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Lillian Pierce, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Elizabeth Turner, Associate Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, School of Medicine

Stammtisch is a German word that refers to the “regulars’ table,” or a recurring informal gathering. This project will create a community of 20 female-identified scholars across Duke who support one another to achieve excellence. To build community rooted in safety and belonging, the Stammtisch will take place once per week over three semesters. Lunchtime discussions will explore best practices for scholarship, teaching, and professional life. The core aim is to support the diversity of Duke faculty by empowering female-identified faculty to reach their fullest potential. After each meeting, project leaders will document key points from the discussion, and a running survey will be available to all members.

Strategic Community-Building: An Alternative to Discriminatory Practices across Disciplines

Lead: Edna Andrews, Professor of Linguistics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Jan Riggsbee, Professor of the Practice, Education, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Beth Sullivan, Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, School of Medicine

This project will pursue a set of enrichment activities for faculty in Arts & Sciences, Medicine, and the Focus Program organized around Duke’s new Mellon Sawyer Seminar series. Bringing together 27 faculty fellows from Duke and four other Triangle universities, this series explores four themes: minorities, underrepresented communities and language-based discrimination; linguistic diversity in education; multilingualism, immigration and identities; and indigenous and endangered languages. The group will meet for dinner discussions after attending specific lectures. Each team meeting will include students as well as faculty.

Toolkit for Equity: Curricula and Climate in the Documentary Arts

Lead: Wesley Hogan, Research Professor, John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute; Director, Center for Documentary Studies

Since 2017, the Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) has brought 11 young artists who identify as Black, indigenous, and/or people of color to Durham for fellowships of 10 to 18 months. Through this pilot, CDS leaders identified barriers to their ability to mentor these artists and created several interventions to address the problem. This seed grant project will engage Biwa | EmergentEquity to partner with CDS in examining organizational culture through the lens of racial equity and building capacity to engage in productive conflict, transparent communication, participatory decision-making, and equitable practice of policies and procedures.

Triangle Economists in Applied Microeconomics (TEAM) Working Group

Lead: Sarah Komisarow, Assistant Professor, Sanford School of Public Policy

Ines Black, Assistant Professor of Business Administration, Fuqua School of Business

Matthew Johnson, Assistant Professor, Sanford School of Public Policy

Last year, this seed grant project created a working group for pre-tenure economists at Duke and other universities in the Triangle who are doing research broadly defined as applied microeconomics. TEAM seeks to provide a community in which members can thrive as young scholars. The two main activities—monthly seminar presentations and biannual writing retreats—provide opportunities peer feedback, a low-stakes environment, and dedicated writing time. This year, the group plans to build on its successful beginning by continuing its activities and expanding the community-building element. There will be a two-day off-campus writing retreat as well as a one-day on-campus retreat to allow more time for engaging in relaxed conversation, sharing goals, and other activities. There will also be a group dinner once each semester to provide more opportunity to build relationships with each other.

Advancing Women in Leadership

Ashleigh Shelby Rosette, Associate Professor of Management and Organization and Sociology

Connecting Entities Within Duke’s Professional Schools That Focus on the Barriers and Biases Experienced by Female Faculty Seeking to Either Advance Their Careers or Attain Leader Positions

Bass Society of Fellows Luncheons and Workshops

Lisa A. Keister, Professor of Sociology and Public Policy, Director of Bass Society of Fellows, and Chair of APT Committee

Building Community Around Excellent Research and Teaching

The Black Think Tank (BTT)

Gustavo Silva, Assistant Professor of Biology

Jarvis C. McInnis, Assistant Professor of English

Patrice D. Douglass, Assistant Professor of Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies

Fostering Faculty Advancement and Inclusion Through Community Building, Mentorship, Networking, and Multidisciplinary Research

Website: blackthinktank.duke.edu

Building a Community at Duke to Engage in Constructive Dialogue on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

David H. Schanzer, Professor of the Practice of Public Policy and Director of the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security

Abdullah T. "Imam" Antepli, Adjunct Faculty of Islamic Studies and Chief Representative of Muslim Affairs

Promoting Cross-Cultural and Cross-Ideological Understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and Promote Civil Discourse and Emphasize the Need for Constructive Problem-Solving

Faculty Writing Retreat Project: Building Community Around Writing

Jennifer Ahern-Dodson, Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Thompson Writing Program, Director of Outreach for the Thompson Writing Program, and Associate Director of Duke Language, Arts and Media Program

Connecting Faculty to One Another and Their Work to Build Diverse and Inclusive Communities Around Writing

Fostering a Positive Community Among Duke Surgery Faculty

Linda Carime Cendales, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery and Orthopedic Surgery, Chair of Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and Director of Duke Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation Program

Promoting and Facilitating Face-To-Face Interactions Centered on Diversity and Inclusion as Rich and Positive Communal Elements to Foster a Sense of Belonging

Improving Faculty Response to Students Who Report Incidences Involving Discrimination and Harassment in the Classroom, Laboratory, and Clinical Setting

Brigit M. Carter, PhD, MSN, RN, CCRN, Associate Professor of Nursing and Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion

Jacquelyn M. “Jacqui” McMillian-Bohler, PhD, CNM, CNE, Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing

Assisting Faculty in Their Growth and Development as Educators, Specifically in Their Ability to Respond to Student Discriminatory and Harassment Type Behaviors

Navigating Power Dynamics in a Diverse and Inclusive Academic Community

Kathryn “Katie” Dickerson, Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Nicole Schramm-Sapyta, Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences

Creating a Healthy, Vibrant, and Inclusive Community That Welcomes All People and Perspectives

Points of Contact: Building a STEM PoPs Community of Scholarship

Dorian A. “Dori” Canelas, Associate Professor of the Practice of Chemistry

Supporting Professors of the Practice in Their Scholarship in Teaching and Stem Education Research

Working Group for Junior Faculty in Applied Microeconomics

Sarah Komisarow, Assistant Professor of Public Policy

Matthew S. “Matt” Johnson, Assistant Professor of Public Policy

Convening a Working Group Comprised of Campus-Wide Pre-Tenured Faculty With Disciplinary Training in Economics Who Define Their Research Approach Within the Category of “Applied Microeconomics”

Writing and ReseArch Productivity (WRAP) Group for Underrepresented Faculty

Tyson Brown, Associate Professor of Sociology

Sarah Elizabeth Gaither, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience

Creating a Community-Based Writing Group and Providing Resources to Enhance Underrepresented Faculty Research and Inclusion Within the Duke Community

Round 1:

Advance Faculty Excellence, Support Professional Development, and Engage in Dialogue Centered on Diversity and Inclusiveness

Judith Kelley, Dean of the Sanford School of Public Policy, ITT/Terry Sanford Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, Professor of Political Science, and Bass Fellow

The Sanford School of Public Policy is constantly striving to improve the quality of our faculty and our instruction and the climate of diversity and inclusion at our school. To that end, the Sanford School seeks to advance faculty excellence, support professional development, and engage in dialogue centered on diversity and inclusiveness. To institute change around these efforts, a number of activities will be put in place around three themes over the course of the calendar year: Faculty Mentoring; Inclusive Teaching and Student Mentoring; and Building an Inclusive Community.

Advancing Faculty Writers Through Summer Writing Retreats

Jennifer Ahern-Dodson, Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Thompson Writing Program, Director of Outreach for the Thompson Writing Program, and Associate Director of Language, Arts & Media Program

As a result of the successful momentum gained through the Duke Faculty Write Program's annual summer writing retreat, this project seeks to further support writers through the following activities:  (1) a week-long intensive summer writing retreat that features writing workshops, consultations, seminar discussions, and dedicated writing time for faculty; (2) two fall semester writing retreats, one in August and one in December, that provide dedicated writing time and space during the academic year and a framework for reconnecting with the summer writing community; (3) writing group facilitation to help faculty form and sustain writing groups during the academic year; (4) consultations. These efforts aim to advance scholarship and build a sense of community within the institution. Specifically, outreach will include inviting participants through faculty lists by college and schools, the Office for Faculty Advancement, Teaching for Equity Fellows (2015-present), the Duke Faculty Women’s Network, and new faculty.

Website: facultywrite.duke.edu

The Black Think Tank at Duke University

Gustavo Silva, Assistant Professor of Biology

Jarvis C. McInnis, Assistant Professor of English

Joseph Richard Winters II, Alexander F. Hehmeyer Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Associate Professor of African and African American Studies, English, and Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies

The Black Think Tank, a platform to connect faculty of color through multidisciplinary research projects, is an effort to create and strengthen our community of scholars by developing multidisciplinary and inter-departmental research projects. The Black Think Tank platform will provide opportunities for mentoring and networking. The first integrative project will be a comparative study of race, genetics, and culture in Brazil and the US South.

Website: blackthinktank.duke.edu

Writing and ReseArch Productivity (WRAP) Group for Underrepresented Faculty

Tyson Brown, Associate Professor of Sociology

In an effort to promote faculty excellence and support underrepresented faculty members, the Center for Biobehavioral Health Disparities Research (CBHDR) will create a Writing and ReseArch Productivity (WRAP) group. The overarching goal of the WRAP group is to develop structure and provide resources for enhancing faculty research and increase publication rates for group members through the development of intensive, cohort-based writing experiences.

Round 2:

Environmental Justice Symposium 2019: Privileging Community Voices, Connecting Faculty

Ryke Longest, Clinical Professor of Law and Professor of Environmental Sciences and Policy

The Environmental Justice Symposium, hosted by the DELPC at Duke Law facilities, will serve as a catalyst for these collaborations, where faculty and students from across disciplines meet and listen to community members at the frontline, articulate strategies for using their research and teaching to address challenges associated with the issue, and form or strengthen relationships that will be integral to their work.

News: Read Duke Law News article

A Faculty Development Workshop on Gender Associated Incivility and Nursing Education

Helen Ann Gordon, DNP, CNM, CNE, CHSE, Assistant Professor of Nursing

Margory “Margie” Molloy DNP, RN, CNE, CHSE, Assistant Professor of Nursing and Director of Center for Nursing Discovery (CND)

Brett Thomas Morgan, DNP, CRNA, Consulting Associate in the School of Nursing

Benjamin Smallheer, PhD, RN, ACNP‐BC, FNP-BC, CCRN, CNE, Assistant Professor of Nursing

The proposed faculty workshop will focus on developing skills to both prevent and manage uncivil behaviors in the classroom, with an emphasis on gender-driven issues. According to research, if actions are taken against uncivil behavior, an enhanced learning environment can be created for all students.

News: Read Duke Nursing News article

Inclusion and Power Dynamics in Academia

Kathryn “Katie” Dickerson, Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Nicole Schramm-Sapyta, Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences

A series of workshops and seminars over the course of a year that will discuss issues related to inclusion (specifically gender and race) and power dynamics in academia.

News: Read Duke DIBS article

Mentor Up / Mentor Down: Interactive Workshops to Strengthen Mentoring Relationships

Katherine J. "Kathy" Franz, Chair and Professor of Chemistry

MentorUp/MentorDown included two performances on February 8, 2018. The first, held at 1:00 pm in French Science 4233, was targeted to faculty and focused on issues of Unconscious Bias, Stereotypes, Microaggressions, Communication and Critical Feedback. The second performance, available to both graduate students and postdoctoral associates, began at 4:00 pm in Schiciano Auditorium. The focus of the student discussions was similar to that of the faculty workshop, with particular emphasis on receiving critical feedback, planning research and setting boundaries. Over 140 students from departments across the university attended.

Website: View Mentor Up / Mentor Down page