Series Examines Glass Ceiling Issues in Academia

During her recent visit to UT Dallas, Dr. Elizabeth Anthony, professor of geology at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), presented findings from a multi-year study at UTEP about the recruitment and promotion of women faculty members.

The presentation highlighted findings from Anthony’s five-year, $3.5 million National Science Foundation-funded project. The talk compared hiring, promotion and other employment statistics, as well as climate survey results, from before and during the grant period.

The talk, titled “The University of Texas at El Paso ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Grant: Comparative results of Year 1 and Year 5 Work-life Studies and Reflections on Best Practices,” was presented by The Carolyn Lipshy Galerstein Women’s Center. It was part of the Gender Studies Lecture Series organized by Dr. Karen Prager in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies.

Anthony’s presentation kicked off a broad discussion about the support that tenure-track women receive from their universities.

Her lecture will be followed by a panel discussion Feb. 11 about the challenges faced by tenure-track female faculty members at UT Dallas. The presenters will include Dr. Marianne Stewart, professor of political science; Dr. Catherine Eckel, professor of economics; and Dr. Rachel Croson, professor of economics and professor of organizations, strategy and international management.

“We’ll present results from a climate survey we conducted here at UT Dallas,” Croson said. “We surveyed the faculty and identified areas where there was a gender gap between the perceptions of men and of women.”

Anthony said that UTEP’s experience proves that if women faculty members are to succeed, then “The institution must change; not the women.” During the lifetime of the grant, more than 30 percent of the faculty hires at UTEP were women.

“That’s a change from the faculty at UTEP being about 15 percent women. Of those women hired, more than 40 percent are Latina. If we bring a woman to campus for recruitment, the likelihood she will be made an offer is 60 percent. Prior to this grant, there wasn’t the same emphasis to make sure there were female candidates. The grant raised awareness for male and female faculty administrators,” said Anthony.

While on campus, Anthony, who is an expert on volcanoes, talked to the GeoClub about Western North American active volcanoes and gave a presentation to a seminar class in the Department of Geosciences titled, “Geodesy and Magmatism in the East African Rift.”

“We’re a small department and Dr. Anthony’s expertise complements the education of our students,” said Dr. Robert Stern, professor of Geosciences. “Having her here gives us double value because she’s a respected geoscientist who researches with us. In addition, she provides an important role model for our students.”