UIC

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UIC
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
The Sky is the Limit Academia in the 21st Century
Mrinalini C. Rao Ph.D. Vice Provost for Faculty
Affairs Professor Digestive Diseases and Nutrition
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What do I Hope to Achieve Today?

• To help you understand the career opportunities
  in academia
• To identify and surmount potential barriers to
  success

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Why am I Talking to You?

• I am thrilled with this honor
• I want to share the excitement of my job with you
• My gray hair lends me a touch of respectability

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An Academic Career in a Research University
SUCCESS
TEACHING
SERVICE
RESEARCH
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An Academic Career in Medicine in at UIC
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Academic Career in Medicine at UIC
CLINICAL SERVICE
TEACHING
RESEARCH
SUCCESS
TEACHING
SERVICE
RESEARCH
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• Open Inquiry
• Ability to be Influenced by Others
• Diligent Search
• Studious Inquiry
• Critical Exhaustive Investigation
• Revision of Accepted Conclusions
• Modification of underlying theories in light of
  new facts

• Add to generalizable knowledge
• Add to practical knowledge
• Explore the limits of your mind

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• Integrity and Ethics

• Good controls, good controls, good controls
• Good Practices -- anally retentive records
• Reproducibility
• Appropriate Models -dont let the models dictate
  your science

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Why Does Research Thrill Me?

• The adrenalin rush when you discover the
  unexpected
• The excitement of seeing the sparkle in a
  students eye
• The exhiliration of putting a story together

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Why Does Teaching Thrill Me?

• Ability to influence younger minds
• The excitement of seeing the sparkle in a
  students eye
• The pleasure of seeing your trainees succeed

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What are the Challenges?

• Who are our constituencies?
• Promotion
• Publish or Perish
• Funding
• Time Juggling

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UIC COM 2004-2005 Enrollment Table

Total Number of Students 1318 72 on Leave of
Absence Total Men 694 Women 624
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Figure 1. Gender Distribution of UIC CoM
Faculty1997 2003-2005
National average in 2005-06 was 32 women.
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Do we have a Problem?

• Over the past 9 years in the College of Medicine
• - of all faculty who are women increased by 4.5
  (26.9-31.4)
• - tenured faculty who are women increased by 2.5
  (18.1-20.6)
• -Only 25.3 women faculty are tenured vs. 44.8
  of men
• - of all faculty who are African American
  increased by 0.2 (3.4-3.6)
• - tenured faculty who are AA decreased by 1.1
  (2.2-1.1)
• - of all faculty who are Hispanic American
  increased by 0.7 (3.1-3.8)
• - of tenured faculty who are HA increased by 3.1
  (1.4-4.5)
• Courtesy Dr. Claudia Morrissey, FAAC

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What Can We Do?
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Efforts at UIC

• Office of Faculty Affairs
• http//www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/faculty/
• Programs
• Heads are the Change Agents
• Cannot forget the Mid-Career Faculty--
• Junior Faculty - New Faculty Orientation/ P and T
  workshop/brown bags
• Underreprsented Faculty Mentoring Program
• Mentoring Match Up Program -- can always have gt1
  mentor

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Efforts at UIC

• Office of Faculty Affairs
• http//www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/faculty/
• What is New?
• Online Faculty Handbook -- all you wanted to know
  and more
• Faculty Affairs Newsletter -- 3 times a year
• New Grievance Procedures -- so there is due
  process, but please do not feel obliged to use it
• Podcast versions of the Promotion and Tenure
  workshops

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Efforts at UIC

• WISEST
• Warm the climate decrease the isolation of
  women STEM faculty
• Pilot initiatives to attract recruit minority
  women faculty
• Transform STEM departments to foster diversity
  womens leadership
• Promote STEM womens scholarship teaching
• Improve the ability to track report on gender
  equity in STEM
• Advocate collaborate across UIC nationally
• A fascinating read --the Climate Survey
• http//www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/faculty/climatesurvey
  .html

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Efforts at UIC

• COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
• FACULTY ACADEMIC ADVANCEMENT COMMITTEE
• http//www.uic.edu/depts/mcam/chicago/faac/
• Create an institution whose faculty, departmental
  leadership, and deans reflect the gender and
  ethnic profile of the Colleges student body.
• Enable excellence in research, teaching, and
  patient care - while promoting work/life balance
  - so that the College of Medicine becomes a
  desired destination for a talented and diverse
  faculty.

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The Search Process

• One Size Does not Fit All
• Avoid Unintentional Gender Bias
• Avoid Racial and Ethnic Stereotyping
• Avoid Evaluation Bias
• Search Committee Training

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cGMP
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Promotion

• The face of the guild is changing
• UIC is one of a few institutions where there are
  separate tracks and norms for clinical
  disciplines --one size does not fit all
• Be informed about the campus policies
• Ask about the norms of the Department/College
• Do not be afraid to ask for advice

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• Get a Mentor
• Campus mentoring program
• Departmental mentoring program
• Network
• You are your best advocate
• Collaborations
• choose wisely
• discuss the ground rules
• Translational Research
• Bench to Bedside
• Bedside to Bench

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Can I Really Succeed?

• Yes you can
• Figure out the family friendly policies
• Tenure roll back
• Childcare
• Partner Hiring Accommodation
• Extending the tenure clock

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What are the Benefits?
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At the End of the Day

• Remember life goes on
• Life Outside Academia
• Supportive Spouse
• Challenging Kids
• Great Friends Family
• Extracurricular Interests

Personal Satisfaction
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Figure 5. Percent Distribution of UIC COM
Faculty by Tenure Status, by Gender, 2005

Qs included in Tenure Track
Courtesy Dr. Claudia Morrissey, FAAC
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Figure 10. Percent Distribution of UIC COM
Faculty by Tenure Status by Race/ Ethnicity, 2005

Qs included in Tenure Track