Striving to Achieve Gender Equity in STEM (SAGES)

Andrew Berglund, Professor, Biological Sciences and Director of The RNA Institute

Pinka Chatterji, Professor, Economics

Jose Cruz, Professor, Political Science

Karin Reinhold, Associate Professor, Mathematics and Statistics

Yanna Liang, Professor and Chair, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering

Marina Petrukhina, Carla Rizzo Delray Professor of Chemistry, Chemistry

Ryan Torn, Professor and Chair, Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences

With funds from the NSF ADVANCE Project SAGES, WISH is providing pilot funding to foster diverse collaborative teams in the STEM fields. The goal is to help UAlbany faculty secure external grants, thereby enhancing the success of women and minoritized women scientists in the tenure and promotion process.

The award: WISH will award three or more seed grants to research teams led by a female PI, with each award providing up to $20,000.

Eligibility: Each research team must be led by a female PI who is a tenure-track assistant professor, tenured associate professor, or research scientist on a permanent track, with a primary appointment in a STEM department or institute at UAlbany. Eligible STEM fields, as defined by the NSF, include mathematics, natural sciences, engineering, computer and information sciences, psychology, economics, sociology, and political science. The team must include at least one co-Investigator who is a tenure-track or tenured professor or research scientist on a permanent track.  Co-investigators with an appointment outside the primary investigator’s department or outside of UAlbany are encouraged, only UAlbany investigators are eligible to receive funds from this program. Previous SAGES seed funding awardees that completed their project and applied for federal funding are eligible to apply.

Instructions: Proposals should include a specific aims page, a brief research plan, biosketches for all investigators (in NSF or NIH format), and a justified budget.

• Specific Aims:  This page should provide a brief background, outline the project goals, describe the project team, and explain how the project will lead to a federal proposal submission (one page).
• Research Plan: This section must include a description of the project written such that non-experts can understand the rationale and plan for the project as well as a timeline with plans to submit a federal proposal within two years (2 pages maximum).
• Biosketches:  Provide biosketches for all investigators using the NSF or NIH format, as applicable, preferably using the new required format SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae.
• References:  Include references with the proposal; they are not counted in the page limit.
• Budget:  Use the budget template provided. 

Format: The proposal and specific aims should be formatted with 0.5-inch margins on all sides and use single-spaced 11 point font of Times New Roman or Arial (or similar).

Budget: The maximum budget is $20,000, and all expenses must be justified., More than 50% of the funds must be allocated to female researcher(s), and all funds must be awarded to researcher(s) with a primary appointment at UAlbany. Funds can be used for supplies, student researchers, or other justified research expenses but cannot be used to cover summer salary for the PI or co-Is.

Reporting: Awardees must submit a one-page progress report at six months and a one-page specific aims document for a federal proposal one year after the award start date. Awardees are required to submit a federal grant application within two years of receiving the SAGES funds.

Review:  Proposals will be reviewed by a diverse, multidisciplinary team including experienced federal grant reviewers and members of the SAGES’s Internal Steering Committee. Proposals should be written for a broad audience, ensuring clarity for researchers outside the applicants’ fields. Priority will be given to proposals that facilitate the acquisition of critical data that lead to publications and support efforts to secure federal funding.

Statement of intent: A statement of intent must be submitted on or before Sept. 6, 2024, at 5 p.m. EDT. The statement should include the proposal title, keywords, and names and contact information for the PI and co-Is should be provided here: https://www.albany.edu/form/sages-letter-of-intent-2021.

Proposal submission: Full proposals with CVs and budget should be submitted to [email protected] by Sept. 30, 2024 at 5 p.m. EST. Awards will be made on or before Oct. 31, 2024.

Questions? See the SAGES website https://www.albany.edu/sages or contact Melinda Larsen [email protected].

As part of Project SAGES, STEM and SBS departments will be encouraged to develop a Postdoctoral Visitation Program. Departments will identify promising postdoctoral fellows who are women or women of color and invite them to campus to give a research seminar. The purpose of the invitation is for faculty to assess the postdoc’s potential and for the postdoc to be given an opportunity to meet the faculty and develop a favorable impression of UAlbany. After such visits, departments will proactively maintain contact with promising candidates and, when a search is authorized, will invite them to apply. This program is intended to increase the number of women in the applicant pool and to enhance chances that women are hired. 

To assist with this initiative, departments may apply for Project SAGES funds via the Women in Science and Health organization (WISH). Project SAGES will support up to four in-person visits each year. Departments are encouraged to supplement visits with departmental resources and also to seek additional sources of funding. 

The External Sponsor Program: The program is designed to allow female assistant and associate professors to develop a scientific relationship with a prominent expert in their field who will support and mentor them and provide an intellectual sounding board. The sponsor will also assist with networking and the visibility of women beyond the UAlbany campus. Sponsors will receive an honorarium of $2500 per semester, with the initial award being for the full academic year, pending the successful partnership in the first semester. The application process is described below and has a deadline of 5 p.m. February 19th, 2024.

Eligibility: Assistant professors on tenure-track, tenured associate professors, or research scientists on a permanent track, must be full-time UAlbany employees to be eligible to apply. They need to be in a STEM/SBS field, as defined by NSF (computer and information sciences, mathematics, natural sciences, engineering, economics, psychology, political science, or sociology.)

Why Apply? Having an external sponsor is an excellent way to receive important guidance on research projects, manuscript submissions, and grant applications. In addition, an external sponsor, as a leader in the field, can assist with networking and making important connections that increase a junior faculty member’s visibility and create opportunities. Current recipients of the External Sponsor Award state “[my sponsor] is very well-connected and has made several key introductions for me” and “[my sponsor] gave me publishing advice you can only get from a journal editor.”

The Sponsor and Travel: Sponsors must be experts in their field of research (male or female) who are highly engaged in professional activities, such as national societies, editorial boards, and grant review panels. They cannot have served as a previous mentor to the applicant during their training. Sponsors will be approved by the department chair or institute director of the applicant, in consultation with the Project SAGES Internal Steering Committee. An agreement articulating the responsibilities of both sponsor and applicant will be signed by both parties. In addition to the sponsor honorarium of $2,500 per semester, funds are available during the second semester for the sponsor to visit campus to interact with the junior faculty in person, and for the faculty in turn to visit the sponsor’s institution.

Process: One of the co-PIs of Project SAGES will contact a given sponsor on behalf of the applicant, but it is acceptable for the applicant to make the initial contact if desired. Once they have agreed to serve as sponsor they will interact with the junior faculty by phone or Zoom at least once per month, to ensure ongoing guidance specific to best strategies for funding, vetting of research ideas, review of manuscripts and grant proposals, and guidance concerning tenure and promotion from the viewpoint of an experienced external tenure reviewer. The sponsored faculty member will provide a written report each semester on the advice they have received, how their actions may have been guided by that advice, and what outcomes they have achieved and would like to achieve going forward. When visiting UAlbany, the sponsor will give a well-publicized seminar for which the junior faculty member will serve as host, providing them with campus networking opportunities and recognition beyond their home department. The sponsor will see the junior faculty member’s laboratory in action, speak with their graduate students and postdocs, and review the faculty member’s progress. Following the visit, the sponsor will provide a letter to the faculty member identifying strengths and weaknesses and providing advice on specific strategies for advancement. Additionally, sponsored faculty will be invited to the sponsor’s institution to give a seminar and develop more extensive networking opportunities.

Application: Use the form below to provide the names and affiliations of the applicant applicant and sponsor and the name of the UAlbany department chair. Send the following materials to [email protected]: a letter from the department chair approving the sponsor, the applicant’s CV, a link to the sponsors website, and a statement of anticipated benefits from establishing a relationship with the sponsor (500-word limit). The application deadline is 5 p.m. February 19th, 2024.

Questions: Contact Marlene Belfort [email protected]

An important goal of Project SAGES is to increase awareness of gender diversity and to promote equity and inclusion in STEM-related departments. In this context, the term “allyship” is often used, and many of us would like to take meaningful actions as allies, but we might not be not sure of what it entails and how to be an ally. Some of us may also have concerns about overstepping or misreading situational cues and therefore feel uncomfortable offering support.

In a two-hour interactive online discussion on allyship by certified executive coach Kim Meninger, MBA will familiarize us with key strategies and action steps to serve as allies to others and create an inclusive work environment.

Bias Mitigation and Allyship: What They Can Do for You and Your Department

This workshop will be conducted by

* Certified Executive Coach Kim Meninger, MBA, and
* Associate Certified Coach Deb Becker, MILR
on Friday, March 4, 2022, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.