NSF ADVANCE LEADERSHIP AWARD:
BIG SKY LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE TO ADVANCE WOMEN INTO RESEARCH LEADERSHIP
Project Summary
This project focuses on women’s research leadership. Research activities profoundly shape the culture
and priorities of universities, and when diverse perspectives – including those of women – become
incorporated into upper levels of the research hierarchy, universities and ultimately science will be
transformed. Achieving this transformation, however, requires advancing the careers of women
scholars and providing career-stage appropriate mentoring and professional development.
The Big Sky Leadership Initiative (BSLI) will advance women as research leaders via a sustainable,
tiered and cascading system of mentoring and professional development. The BSLI draws on
Montana State University’s existing strengths – its prominent interdisciplinary research centers and
crosscutting programs, its well-positioned senior women faculty in sciences and engineering – to
develop an innovative system for mentoring women scientists, social scientists and engineers at
different career stages and transition points. Each track of the BSLI has specific goals and contributes
to a systemic and sustainable program. Senior women will enter into formal mentoring relationships
with research leaders at outside institutions who have extensive experience developing and
maintaining complex research centers. In turn, this network of senior women will mentor early-tomid-career women faculty, providing them opportunities to develop their research and introducing
them to the organizational structures through which interdisciplinary research is accomplished. BSLI
also includes an integrated series of four two-day, intensive leadership development workshops on a
variety of topics of importance to scientists and engineers. Formative and summative evaluation and
dissemination of the program results are included.
Intellectual merit. This project creates an innovative and differentiated structure for mentoring of
women faculty at different career stages. It approaches the advancement of women scientists and
engineers into high-level research leadership positions by focusing on the development of their human
and social capital. The project spans disciplinary boundaries by embedding opportunities for
mentoring and professional development in multidisciplinary research centers and partnerships.
Broader impacts. Broader impacts include: (1) the formation of an innovative mentoring program
sustainable beyond the grant period; (2) enhancement of the research programs of women scientists
and engineers; (3) unique training opportunities for women faculty at institutions beyond MSU,
especially in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest regions; (4) outreach to Native American
scientists and engineers as well as educators at tribal colleges; (5) curricular development in women’s
research leadership; (6) the advancement of interdisciplinary science; (7) the development of
sustainable, crosscutting networks of researchers; and (8) enhancement of the broader intellectual
climate of MSU’s campus through public dialogue and workshops.
NSF ADVANCE LEADERSHIP AWARD
BIG SKY LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE TO ADVANCE WOMEN INTO CAREERS
IN RESEARCH LEADERSHIP
“...You’ve got to be in the boat in order to steer it.”
Dr. Shirley Malcom, quoted in the report
Balancing the Equation: Where are Women and Girls in
Science, Engineering and Technology?
(NCRW, 2001)
OVERVIEW
The problem. In higher education, women are under-represented in senior research leadership as well
as in most science, social science and engineering disciplines. The small numbers of women in these
areas is particularly significant because the research activities profoundly shape an institution’s culture
and priorities. When diverse perspectives – including those of women – become incorporated into
upper levels of the research hierarchy, universities and ultimately science will be transformed.
Achieving this transformation, however, requires advancing the careers of women scholars and
providing career-stage appropriate mentoring and professional development.
The project. This project will establish the Big Sky Leadership Initiative (BSLI) to advance women
into leadership positions in research administration in higher education through on-going professional
development, network building and a cascading system of mentoring organized around existing
interdisciplinary research centers and programs at Montana State University (MSU). The NSF
ADVANCE Leadership Award will be used as start-up funds for the BSLI, supporting the
development and delivery of intensive training workshops, the initiation and development of
mentoring relationships on MSU’s campus for mid-career women faculty, and travel to facilitate
mentoring relationships between senior women faculty and outside mentors. Participants from science
(including social science) and engineering will be drawn from Montana State University as well as
other colleges and universities in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest regions. Presenters and
mentors will be drawn from both public and private institutions, including MSU and other EPSCoR
institutions as well as other research universities, and public and private research institutions and
foundations, and from industry partners.
Intellectual merit. By addressing both conceptual and practical issues in science, the BSLI workshops
will provide a context within which participants will engage emerging issues in science, gain or
expand their knowledge of the basics of research and general administration, collaborate with leading
researchers/mentors from a wide array of institutions, and develop collegial networks. Mentoring
relationships will be tailored to the specific career stages and substantive interests of participants. The
overall aim of the project is to prepare women faculty to move into research administration positions
(e.g., center directors, PI on large grants, chairs of research-active departments) and ultimately into
higher-level central administration positions in research universities. In the course of doing so, the
project will provide valuable insight into the process for cultivating research leadership careers and the
key role that mentoring and professional development can have in advancing this cohort.
Sponsor profile. BSLI will be hosted by Montana State University, a mid-sized land grant university
with rapidly expanding research programs. Since the mid-1980's, MSU has transformed itself from an
institution primarily focused on teaching and service to a nationally recognized leader in scientific
research. Montana, one of the five original EPSCoR states, has increased its R&D competitiveness
and successfully positioned its university researchers in the mainstream of federal and private sector
support by investment in the development of its S&E faculty. Between 1994 and 2004, MSU’s annual
research expenditures grew from $30.6 million to $87.9 million, with a substantial share attributable to
the university’s interdisciplinary and cross-institutional collaborations. The University is committed
to transforming itself further by diversifying its administration, faculty and students, with a focused
effort on enhancing opportunities for women in science, engineering and the social sciences. The PI
and Co-PI’s for this project are affiliated with interdisciplinary research centers as well as the Colleges
of Letters & Science, Engineering and Agriculture and the Office of the Vice President for Research,
Creativity & Technology Transfer.
Overall, women comprise 15% of the tenure-track faculty in MSU science, social science and
engineering departments. Across colleges and departments, however, women’s representation varies.
For example, only 4% of College of Engineering faculty are women and three of five departments in
the COE have no women faculty. In contrast, twenty percent of science and social science faculty in
the College of Letters & Science are women, with women comprising 30% or more of faculty in Cell
Biology & Neurobiology, Microbiology and Political Science. Although MSU has relatively few
(n=10) women full professors in science, social science and engineering, these women represent fully
50% of all women full professors at MSU and 40% of these women have committed to participate as
project leaders in the BSLI. MSU has a larger contingent of associate (n=15) and assistant professors
(n=23) in science, social science and engineering poised to advance their careers
(http://www.montana.edu/opa/facultystaffindex.html).
Broader impacts. The project’s broader impacts include: (1) the formation of an innovative
mentoring program sustainable beyond the grant period; (2) enhancement of the research programs of
senior-level and mid-career women scientists and engineers; (3) unique training opportunities made
available, at no cost beyond travel and lodging, to women faculty at institutions beyond MSU,
especially in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest regions; (4) outreach to Native American
scientists, engineers and educators at tribal colleges; (5) curricular development in research leadership
for women; (6) the advancement of interdisciplinary science; (7) the development of sustainable, longterm networks of researchers across disciplinary and institutional boundaries; and (8) enhancement of
the broader intellectual climate of MSU’s campus through public dialogue by outside experts.
VISION AND GOALS
The BSLI will advance women as research leaders via a sustainable, tiered and cascading system of
mentoring and career development. Its specific goals are to:
 Encourage women scientists to seek senior leadership positions in research in public and
private institutions and within the agencies that support the nation’s research infrastructure.
 Focus on the specific needs of women scientists and engineers, with close attention paid to
career stage transitions.
 Connect women scientists and engineers with mentors who can advise them as they pursue
new career challenges, with a focus on involvement in the leadership of crosscutting research
areas.
 Provide opportunities for women scientists and engineers to enhance their human and social
capital with respect to research leadership and administration through skill enhancement and
network building.
 Create an active network of participants, mentors, sponsors and others interested in
advancing women into research leadership.
BACKGROUND
Status of Women in Science and Engineering Administration. Thirty years ago there were few
women scientists and engineers at major research institutions. Today, while women’s representation
in some science fields (notably social and life sciences) has climbed to nearly 30 percent, women are
still far from reaching proportional representation in many disciplines and in the upper faculty ranks.
Although women have earned 25% or more of Ph.D.’s since the early 1970’s, the percentage of
women full professors in S&E disciplines had still not reached 10% by 1995. As Dr. M.R.C.
Greenwood noted in her plenary address in the 1999 NAS symposium, Who will do the science of the
future?, “the data on full professors [in science and engineering] give me pause…the rate of increase
does not keep pace with expectations” (NAS 2000, p. 69). Greenwood is, however, optimistic about
science leadership. Based on female representation in the National Academy of Sciences and on
steadily increasing numbers of women in tenured and tenure-track positions, “…one would expect
women to make great gains in leadership activities and positions in upcoming years...[t]here is
promise that in the next 30 years there will be substantially more female leaders in many areas of
science” (p. 69-70).
In a study by the Committee on Women in Science and Engineering of the National Research Council,
Long (2001) carefully documented the changing representation of women in science and engineering
between 1979 and 1995. Based on NSF data, the study concluded that while gender disparities in
employment, academic rank, and salaries narrowed over this time period, the gender gap persists and
is especially prevalent in what were then referred to as “Research I Universities.” Implications of the
Long (2001) study included:
 Gender differences in career outcomes of Ph.D. recipients from Research I institutions are
especially important because these individuals are more likely to join the faculties of researchbased public and private institutions and to rise to the highest ranks of research administration
in colleges and universities, public and private research centers, and research-funding
organizations.
 Within all academic ranks (assistant, associate, and full professors) women are least
represented in the Research I institutions. Although representation has increased across
research-based institutions, the increases have been smaller in Research I institutions.
 When the types of academic positions that women are holding are examined closely, “the
semblance if growing equality fades” (Long, 2001, p 6). Men continue to maintain a nearly 15
percentage point advantage over women in tenure track positions at a time when the number
of academic positions overall is declining.
At the highest levels of research leadership (i.e., Vice Presidents for Research or similar positions),
women are similarly under-represented. Among the 63 leading research universities in US and
Canada who are members of Association for American Universities (AAU), approximately 20 percent
of Vice Presidents for Research are females; among the NASULGC institutions, the percentage of
women in these positions falls to approximately 6 percent. The 2004 Annual Report from the
Lombardi Program on Measuring University Performance published by the University of Florida
revealed that women held only 14% of the 100 top-ranked positions. In lower ranks, gender
disparities decreased but much of the female participation was in non-Ph.D, fiscal management
positions (Capalbo & Opsahl, 2005).
Barriers to women’s advancement into research administration. Sociological and psychological
factors affecting women’s advancement into tenurable positions include gender bias and stereotyping
(Brewer, 1996), the lack of congruence between the academic “life-cycle” and women’s individual life
choices (Commission on the Status of Women, 2000), and the nature and structure of the science and
engineering disciplines themselves (Harding, 1991; Rosser, 1990; Wacjman, 1991, Engineering
Trends, 2004). In addition, the marginalization and “over-work” of junior female faculty and lack of
recognition of women’s achievements often result in women faculty leaving higher education.
Studies by Vetter (1996) and women faculty at MIT (1999) revealed that seemingly small disparities
have powerful cumulative effects on women’s achievements, opportunities and aspirations. Research
also indicates that, while training programs are a necessary step to help advance women within their
institutions, they cannot alone achieve that end (see also Congressional Commission on the
Advancement of Women & Minorities, 2000). Rather, numerous studies have concluded that gender
bias can be reduced by ensuring that specific women leaders have visibility and the power to allocate
and withhold resources (Brown & Geis, 1984; Ragins, 1991; Yoder, 2001). In research universities,
this will require advancing women to high levels of research leadership and administration.
Existing leadership development programs. Two national-level programs seek to advance women in
general university administration and leadership positions:
 The Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government Executive Program: Women
in Power: Leadership in a New World, designed for senior women in public, private, and
nonprofit organizations, is an intensive, one-week program focusing on sharpening
participants’ skills, enabling them to function at the highest levels of institutional
administration. [http://www.execprog.org/programs.asp?programid=87&displaymode=view]
 The Bryn Mawr/HERS, Mid-America Summer Institute for Women in Higher
Education Administration is a month-long program whose objective is to improve the status
of women in middle/executive levels of higher education administration
[http://www.brynmawr.edu/summerinstitute/]
In addition, existing ADVANCE programs (e.g., University of Washington) provide workshops and
professional development opportunities for women in academia.
These programs do not, however, focus specifically on the needs of women who aspire to positions as
research leaders. In addition, the longer programs do not meet the needs of research-active women
faculty who cannot generally disengage from on-going research activities or family obligations to
participate in training opportunities that extend one week or longer. BSLI fills that gap by focusing
on the human and social capital development needs of promising research scientists and
establishing a mentoring and leadership development program that is delivered in short, yet
intensive, segments.
PLAN OF ACTION
Project activities are organized into three distinct tracks, reflecting different career stages. The
activities in each track reflect career-stage specific needs for human and social capital. Each track will
be evaluated.
Senior track: Mentoring from beyond the institution
 Target audience: Senior women scientists and engineers responsible for crosscutting research
programs.
 Goals: To enhance management skills, support networking between and among senior women
and outside experts, and prepare senior women to advance as influential research leaders.
 Program elements and outcomes: (1) Establish and maintain mentoring relationships with
experts outside MSU; (2) meet regularly with other participants in the senior mentoring track
to develop a network of senior women faculty at MSU; (3) serve on the project advisory
committee and/or as a mentor to a mid-career participant; (4) contribute to intensive
workshops for mid- and early-career participants.
Mid-career track: A convergence of disciplinary expertise and leadership opportunities
 Target audience: Promising women scientists and engineers, recently tenured or soon-to-be
tenured.


Goals: To incorporate mid-career women into interdisciplinary research centers and
crosscutting research programs, enhance their scholarship, expand their scientific and
administrative knowledge base, and create the next generation of research leaders.
Program elements and outcomes: (1) Establish and maintain a mentoring relationship with a
senior faculty member affiliated with an interdisciplinary research center; (2) participate in
research and administration in the interdisciplinary research center; (3) prepare and submit a
research proposal in collaboration with the interdisciplinary research center; and (4)
participate in the intensive workshops for mid- and early-career participants.
General track: Engaging the broader scientific milieu through intensive workshops
 Target audience: Early- to mid-career women scientists and engineers.
 Goals: To provide participants with a broad perspective on science, expand their
administrative knowledge base, and introduce them to interdisciplinary, cross-institutional and
collaborative opportunities.
 Program elements and outcomes: Development and delivery of an integrated series of four
two-day, intensive, workshops over the course of two years. (1) The Future of Science,
paired with hands-on career development work; (2) Science and Place, including a field trip
to Yellowstone Park and paired with curricula to develop general administrative skills; (3)
Women in Science, paired with curricula to develop research administration skills; and (4)
Science and the Public Interest, paired with career development work. Each workshop will
feature an outside expert(s) and will focus on a specific aspect of acquiring research funding.
Key institutional resources: Interdisciplinary research centers. The BSLI capitalizes on one of
MSU’s key institutional advantages. At MSU, senior women researchers either lead or play key roles
in numerous prominent interdisciplinary research centers and partnerships: the NSF-initiated Center
for Biofilm Engineering, the Center for Computational Biology, the Big Sky Institute for Science and
Natural History, the Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Regional Partnership, the Lariat Network, the
BRIN-INBRE, and the Division of Health Sciences. Thus, MSU has an existing network of senior
women researcher leaders – all of whom are engaged in successful interdisciplinary research/academic
endeavors – who will both benefit from external mentoring and be excellent mentors to rising women
researchers. While senior women are mentored in how to expand their research centers, they will
simultaneously prepare other women researchers to advance.
Sustainability. The ADVANCE Leadership Award will establish a sustainable mentoring network.
Senior-level researchers affiliated with interdisciplinary research centers will receive mentoring from
experts outside the institution, thus developing their human and social capital in the area of large-scale
research leadership. These senior women will pay back the benefits they receive by mentoring midcareer women poised to enter this milieu, preparing these women for career advancement and
ultimately to mentor subsequent cohorts of women researchers. Junior and mid-career women
researchers are incorporated into the mentoring system via intensive one-on-one mentoring in an
interdisciplinary research center or via the series of leadership development workshops. Once
established, the BSLI will be sustained, past the initial grant period, using financial resources from
central administration and leveraging existing university programs (e.g., MSU’s EPSCoR and BEST
programs for course buyouts). See attached letters of support for greater detail.
Senior researcher track: Mentoring from beyond the institution. As women faculty advance into
directing major crosscutting research centers – ones that produce high payoffs for science, society and
individual careers – they must develop higher-level skills and social networks. Crosscutting research
projects pose dilemmas unfamiliar to most faculty, including how to:
 enhance the value and social contributions of broad-based partnerships and research centers;
 negotiate across institutional and interdisciplinary boundaries;
 manage diverse personnel and multi-faceted programs and initiatives; and
 effectively administer large and complex grants from diverse funding sources.
The BSLI uses cross-institutional mentoring as a strategy for enhancing the knowledge, skills and
networks of those who administer crosscutting research centers.
Montana State University is in the enviable position of housing several interdisciplinary and/or crossdisciplinary research centers that are directed by senior women faculty. Because these centers are at
the forefront of large-scale research at MSU, the senior women scientists who run them are already at
the upper edge of the institution’s capabilities in this area. Thus, this project will provide funds to
establish and maintain cross-institutional mentoring relationships between senior women scientists and
outside experts who can provide insight into administrative skills that will allow these scientists and
the university to advance. At this level, mentoring needs are specific to individuals and their context
(i.e., contingent upon their prior experience, the nature of their research center, etc.). Therefore,
mentoring relationships will be individualized, but all will share the following broad framework: (1)
an external mentor(s) will be identified; (2) the senior-level participant will make visits to the mentor’s
research center to study successful collaborative and management techniques; and (3) the mentor will
provide advice about how to advance the participant’s research center/program.
The five senior women faculty who will benefit from this mentoring are briefly profiled below and
have committed to: mentor mid-career women faculty in the context of their research center/program;
participate in the organization and delivery of the intensive workshops; and work with the evaluation
component to assure that the results are transferable and disseminated to a broader audience. In
addition the participants have established an informal bi-monthly meeting time to share mentoring
advice and experience received from the external colleagues and mentors. Each participant will
receive a modest sum to support travel and related expenses over the three year period, and will be
further supported through MSU’s executive level commitment to this effort. Letters of commitment
from the five senior MSU women and summaries of the qualifications and experience of the external
mentors are provided in the supplemental documentation.
Anne Camper is a Professor of Civil Engineering and the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate
Studies in the College of Engineering and has been a key senior faculty in the NSF Engineering
Research Center, the Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE), since its inception in 1991. At present,
she is overseeing a $2M research program within the CBE focused on the persistence and transport of
pathogenic microorganisms in drinking water systems that engages four post-docs/research faculty,
one technician, seven graduate students, eight undergraduate researchers, two visiting faculty and two
visiting students. Anne has identified Dr. Linda P.B. Katehi, Professor of Electrical and Computer
Engineering, IEEE Fellow, and the John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering at Purdue University as
her mentor. Dr. Katehi has been instrumental in enhancing the diversity of the engineering college at
Purdue and in facilitating “signature” cluster positions within her college.
Susan M. Capalbo, the Director of Special Programs in the Office of the VP for Research, and
Professor of Agricultural Economics and Economics, has responsibility for promoting the social
science, policy and behavioral sciences in collaborative and interdisciplinary research projects at
MSU. She has an extensive research funding portfolio which is nearly an order of magnitude higher
than the national average for researchers in her discipline. She is the PI on a recently awarded DOE
partnership grant for $17.7M to address carbon sequestration and clean energy alternatives; the
partnership involves eight research institutions, five major industry partners and three DOE energy
labs and encompasses research and policy analysis bridging the economic, chemical, engineering, and
geological/GIS disciplines. Dr. Alvin Kwiram, former Vice-Provost for Research at University of
Washington, and Dr. Paul Portney, past president of Resources for the Future, and currently Dean of
the Business School at University of Arizona, will be her mentors. Dr. Kwiram provides an
unprecedented experience in leading the research office for a major public University and has
extensive experience in both multidisciplinary research Centers and partnerships with federal research
labs; Dr. Portney is an economist with over 30 years of Washington DC experience as an
environmental and energy policy analyst and was President and CEO of Resources for the Future, an
interdisciplinary think-tank for issues involving natural resource use and the environment. He has an
international reputation as an unbiased voice in public policy debates.
Lisa J. Graumlich is the Executive Director of the Big Sky Institute and Professor of Land Resources
and Environmental Sciences. Under her leadership, the Big Sky Institute has developed a funding
portfolio which includes interdisciplinary research on human-environment interactions in the Greater
Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) as well as projects designed to ensure credible, scientific
understanding of environmental issues are advanced, made easily accessible to the public, and helps
inform decision-making processes. She is the PI on a recently awarded $1.7M NSF GK12 grant that
builds partnerships between Ph.D. students and K-12 schools in the GYE. Given the challenges of
integrating science into decision-making processes, Graumlich seeks to work with a noted authority on
policy analysis, Tim W. Clark, Yale University, as her mentor. Dr. Clark is the Joseph F. Cullman
3rd adjunct professor of wildlife ecology and policy in the School of Forestry, Environmental Studies
and fellow in the Institution for Social and Policy Studies, Yale University, and President of the
Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, Jackson, WY. Clark’s current policy-oriented,
contextual, multi-method work focuses on issues of human rights, natural resources management and
policy and leadership training. His work includes field studies, workshops and courses, and policy
research on diverse topics in the US and internationally. His work includes problem solving projects
in sustainability, ecosystem management, large carnivores, national park management, and
biodiversity conservation and endangered species. He has worked with students and professionals
from 38 countries.
Linda E. Hyman joined Montana State University in 2003 in the position of Vice Provost for Health
Sciences. Linda directs Montana’s medical education program and the Area Health Education
Program, Montana Office of Rural Health, and the American Indian Research Opportunities Program
(AIRO). Her key research leadership responsibilities involve new opportunities in biomedical and
health sciences on the MSU campus and with the University of Washington. Linda maintains an active
research program as a member of the Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience whose interests
include transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Linda is an excellent
candidate for the senior track mentoring phase as she is responsible for major institutional and statewide research and outreach programs. Linda will work with Laura S. Levy, Tulane University
School of Medicine and Associate Vice President for Research at Tulane University, and Dr. Naomi
Rosenberg, Dean of the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Studies and Professor of Pathology at
Tufts University. Both Drs. Levy and Rosenberg are administrative leaders at large graduate schools
which are serving an interdisciplinary community of research scientists and educators. Remarkably
both women are able to maintain active research laboratories and are well suited to mentor and serve
as successful models of woman who are influential as academic research and administrative leaders in
the biological sciences.
Gwen Jacobs is a Professor of Neuroscience and has served as Head of the Department of Cell
Biology and Neuroscience since its inception in 2000. Her research bridges several disciplines
including neuroscience, computational biology, informatics, software engineering and, most recently,
information technology and its impacts on research and education. She directs a research laboratory
within the Center for Computational Biology (http://cns.montana.edu), the HHMI Undergraduate
Biology Program (http://hughes.montana.edu) and the Lariat Networking Project (http://lariatwest.org), a $10M NIH award to build high bandwidth networks and develop IT-enabled research in
six rural states. Dr. Jacobs is very active at the national level in the areas of science policy, informatics
and information technology. She has chosen two individuals as mentors: Dr. Claire Fraser, President
of The Institute of Genomic Research and Dr. Edward Lazowska, Bill and Melinda Gates Professor
of Computer Science at the University of Washington. Both are high profile research leaders and wellrespected science policy advocates.
Mid-career research track: A convergence of disciplinary expertise and leadership opportunities.
The mid-career research track focuses on the continuing development of women faculty who are well
on their way to being established researchers in their disciplines. Such women faculty are at pivotal
points in their careers where distinct paths are available to them. They may:
 Continue as productive researchers within their specialty areas without ever seeing, just over
the horizon, the interdisciplinary and administrative opportunities available to them;
 Step back from research careers for a variety of reasons (e.g., family responsibilities, new
career interests, political friction)
 Advance not just as researchers but also as administrators within the larger structure of the
research university.
To move into first-line (e.g., Department Chair) or other administrative positions in research
institutions, women faculty must first succeed as researchers. Such success, though a necessary
condition for administrative advancement, is not a sufficient condition: Advancement also requires an
awareness of the broader research mission of the institution, understanding the complex structures
through which that mission is pursued, and mentoring and encouragement that highlights the
interdisciplinary and administrative opportunities open to productive scholars. That is, advancement
requires human and social capital that extends beyond disciplinary boundaries and narrow research
agendas that, up to this career juncture, led to scholarly success.
Through substantive involvement in both research and administration in an interdisciplinary research
center, five mid-career women faculty will enhance their research productivity, expand their
knowledge and skills in the area of research administration, and develop a strong relationship with a
formally-assigned mentor as well as with other faculty working in the center. The placements will be
individualized, but each participant will:
 Participate in the research and administration of an interdisciplinary research center
 Develop a research project in collaboration with center staff, culminating in a grant proposal
ready for submission at the end of the grant period
 Contribute expertise to the center (e.g., participate in a project on behalf of the center, serve on
the advisory board, serve on a core advisory committee).
In addition, mid-career women faculty will participate in the intensive workshops. While providing
opportunities to develop new skills, the workshops are also a context for social interaction and support
among women faculty at both similar and different career positions and trajectories. The mentoring
relationships and the formal professional development workshops will coalesce to enhance the human
and social capital of this set of promising women faculty. Participation in this track will be intensive
and a substantial time commitment for both mid-career faculty and their mentors. For that reason, this
track is limited to five participants, matched carefully to mentors and research centers.
In the first year of the project, project leaders will work with deans, department heads and other senior
faculty to identify promising women faculty to be recruited for participation in this track. In addition,
an open call will be issued for self-nominations. Specific efforts will be made to identify at least one
Native American participant, either on MSU’s campus or in another tertiary institution in Montana.
Based on the identified candidates, project staff will work with interdisciplinary center directors to
identify placements that are the best fit between the candidate and the research focus of the center.
Once established, the mentoring pairs – the senior mentors and the mid-career women they are
mentoring – will meet on a monthly basis to chart progress, exchange ideas and strengthen the larger
mentoring network on MSU’s campus. Via this mechanism, and via the external evaluation,
placements will be closely monitored to ensure that they provide benefits to participants and to allow
arrangements to adapt as necessary.
Because time is one of the most valuable commodities to any scholar, the proposal requests funds for
course releases for three of the five mentoring participants; the university will match this contribution
by funding course releases for the other two mid-career mentoring participants through MSU’s BEST
program (jointly administered by the Provost and the VP for Research and Creativity) or the EPSCoR
program. If the mid-career mentor is not a participant in the senior mentoring track, he or she will
receive a modest stipend to be used to support his or her research agenda.
General track: Engaging the broader scientific milieu through intensive workshops. We will
develop and deliver an integrated series of four two-day intensive workshops on topics relevant to
research leadership and administration. Planning for the workshops will be coordinated by Dr.
Susanne Monahan, Co-PI and member of the Leadership Team for the BSLI. Drawing on the
expertise of those in the senior mentoring track, external mentors, the advisory committee and other
senior researchers at MSU and elsewhere, we will design interactive workshops that will offer junior
and mid-career women faculty the opportunity to:
 Place their work in a larger intellectual and strategic framework
 Develop general and research-related administrative skills
 Strategically plan for subsequent stages of their careers
 Engage with and learn from senior researchers and outside experts
 Develop a network of contacts and resources beyond disciplinary and institutional boundaries
Workshops will be open to MSU faculty and advertised to research faculty throughout the Rocky
Mountain and Pacific Northwest region. Specific efforts will be made to recruit Native American
participants and/or educators at tribal colleges. Identified Native American or tribal college candidates
will be given preference for up to four slots in the intensive workshops. The grant will fund workshop
participation by 20 women scientists and engineers. We are especially interested in involving pretenure women faculty, as the workshops are an entrée into the broader mentoring network.
Each intensive workshop will pair a topic focusing on general issues in science with one focusing on
the career development of women interested in research leadership. Each workshop will also address
the strategic and technical aspects of grant seeking and writing. Although the workshops will include
formal presentations by outside experts, activities will be weighted towards hands-on learning and
collaboration and participant interaction with each other as well as with senior researchers and outside
experts. Although we expect that most participants will commit to attending each workshop, the
workshops will be designed so that participants who miss a workshop are nonetheless fully integrated
into the program. A brief description of each intensive workshop follows.
Intensive workshop I – THE FUTURE OF SCIENCE: The inaugural workshop will pair an
examination of the future of science, from both disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives, with
collaborative work with senior researchers and outside experts on post-tenure career assessment and
planning. Activities include:
 Panels or presentations on funding and the advancement of science, with a special emphasis
on the role of information technology and cyber-infrastructure as a means to enhance scientific
research and collaboration.
 Collaborative small group work among senior researchers and workshop participants focusing
on strategic planning next steps after tenure; consideration of different paths towards career


advancement; identifying, approaching and working with mentors; and tapping into resources
for professional development.
Panels and hands on work on strategic planning for a career in funded research.
Guests: Representative from NSF’s Cyber-infrastructure Directorate; Jacqueline Brown
(invited, University of Washington); Ed Lazowska (confirmed, University of Washington).
Intensive workshop II – SCIENCE AND PLACE: The second workshop will pair exploration of
the relationship between the science we do and the places (institutional, geographic) we inhabit with
hands-on work with senior researchers and outside experts on topics related to general university
administration. Activities include:
 Panels and presentations on identifying and capitalizing on existing institutional or community
strengths and resources with a focus on the development of regional/national multidisciplinary
research centers.
 A field trip to Yellowstone National Park led by an interdisciplinary team of MSU scientists
for whom this is their laboratory (this workshop will be extended by one day to accommodate
this field trip)
 Presentations and active learning (e.g., case studies, group exercises) led by senior researchers
and outside experts on basic and advanced topics related to general administration including
personnel issues, conflict management, navigating university bureaucracy and human
resources law.
 Panels and discussion about working with funding agencies and identifying funding
opportunities (e.g., working with program officers, serving on review committees).
 Guests: Tim Clark (confirmed, Yale University); Paul Portney (confirmed, University of
Arizona).
Intensive workshop III – WOMEN IN SCIENCE: The third workshop will pair consideration of
the challenges and opportunities for women researchers at research universities with hands-on work,
led by senior researchers and outside experts, on topics related to research administration. Activities
include:
 Panels and presentations on issues related to women in academia including an overview of the
current state of women scientists, engineers and social scientists; the role of diversity in
shaping research agendas and institutional context; special opportunities for women scientists
and engineers (e.g., ADVANCE Leadership Awards); and strategies for advancing the careers
of women faculty.
 Presentations and active learning (e.g., case studies, group exercises) led by senior researchers
and outside experts on basic and advanced topics related to research administration including
budgeting and grant administration, legal compliance issues and managing cross-disciplinary
and cross-institutional collaboration.
 Panels on grant writing and budget development.
 Guests: Representative from the NSF ADVANCE Program; Julia King (confirmed, Imperial
College, London); Kathie Olson (invited, Office of Science & Technology Policy, Executive
Office of the President); representatives from other ADVANCE programs.
Intensive workshop IV – SCIENCE AND THE PUBLIC INTEREST: The fourth workshop will
pair conversation about the public role of science with hands on, collaborative work with senior
researchers and outside experts on career development for women in the sciences, engineering and
social sciences. Activities include:
 Panels and presentations on research ethics; media coverage of science; the roles of
government, industry and non-profits in forming the national research agenda; development of



interdisciplinary research teams to address social and environmental problems; and science
and politics.
Collaborative small group work among senior researchers and workshop participants focusing
on career-stage transitions in the academy, traditional and alternative opportunities in
university and research administration, shifting into the role of mentor and other career
development topics.
Panels and hands on work on developing grant proposals for interdisciplinary and crossinstitutional research.
Guests: Representative from the NSF Social, Behavioral and Economics Directorate; Alvin
Kwiram (confirmed, University of Washington), Claire Fraser (confirmed, The Institute of
Genomic Research)
In addition to contributing to the intensive workshops, each visiting expert will also make a public
presentation on a topic of general interest to the campus and broader community.
Integrating the tracks. Points of intersection between and among the tracks will enhance the
durability of the mentoring system. The tracks will intersect in a variety of ways:
 Senior women participants will serve as mentors to mid-career participants and collaborate in
the planning and delivery of the intensive workshops.
 Mid-career mentoring track participants will participate in the intensive workshops.
 Mentors to the senior track women will participate, as invited guests, in the intensive
workshops.
 The senior women participants will meet bi-monthly at regularly scheduled luncheons to
share what they have learned and strengthen their ties.
 A larger bi-monthly luncheon for all program participants and other interested women faculty
will be scheduled to alternate with the senior participant meeting. This larger group will
serve to integrate more women into the network of women researchers at MSU and senior
track participants will make specific efforts to reach out to new and existing women faculty
across the university.
Through these points of intersection, the mentoring system will resemble a web or a network that will
provide essential social capital (e.g., social connections and ties, shared norms, trust) to emerging
women research leaders.
Project outcomes and dissemination of findings. The project will generate the following outcomes:
 For senior mentoring track participants: (1) improved management of interdisciplinary
research centers, (2) growth of existing interdisciplinary research centers, (3) increased
confidence as research leaders, and (4) expanded cross-institutional networks.
 For mid-career mentoring track participants: (1) increased knowledge of the inner-workings
of large research grants and interdisciplinary centers, (2) enhanced research programs; (3) the
submission of a collaborative grant proposal; and (4) expanded collaborative networks across
disciplines and institutions.
 For general track participants: (1) increased awareness of the broader context of science; (2)
enhanced skills in the area of research and general administration; (3) greater clarity regarding
future career trajectories; and (4) expanded collaborative networks across disciplines and
institutions.
 From the project overall: (1) a sustainable mentoring and professional development system;
(2) presentations on this project at AAAS and disciplinary meetings as well as NSF
ADVANCE meetings; (3) publication about the project in higher education administration
journals and discipline-specific newsletters and magazines; (4) development of a website that
highlights our strategies, successes and lessons learned; (5) development of curricular
materials related to the workshops for free and wider dissemination through our project
website.
Evaluation and assessment: Dr. Joan LaFrance will conduct an external evaluation of the BSLI. Dr.
LaFrance is owner of Mekinak Consulting, Seattle, Washington, a firm specializing in external
evaluation services and management consulting (see biographical sketch). The evaluation will provide
strong formative feedback and determine the extent to which the BSLI has achieved its stated goals.
The evaluation will gather baseline data, formative evaluation information throughout the program,
and summative information to allow assessment of the project’s overall success. Although the major
evaluation plan is outlined below, the first step in planning for the evaluation will be the development
of a theory of change based on the assumptions underlying BSLI’s activities (Weiss, 1998). The
evaluator will facilitate a meeting with major stakeholders (e.g., staff, advisors, participants) early in
the first year of the project to jointly define major assumptions for change and the connection between
the assumptions and project activities. After these have been made explicit, the major outcomes and
evaluation questions described below will be revisited to see if they need to be revised.
The evaluation design will be based on a mixed method approach with an emphasis on qualitative
interviewing and focus groups geared to documenting baseline experiences and expectations of the
mentors and those being mentored and tracking their experiences throughout the project. Survey
methods will be used to assess the value of the workshops, and follow-up interviewing of a sample of
workshop participants will track how the workshops have influenced subsequent research and career
opportunities. The evaluator will report findings at least twice a year to ensure that evaluation
contributes to the development and improvement of the project.
Major questions to be addressed by the evaluation include:
1. Over the course of the project, how do senior and mid-year female scientists describe the
influence of their mentoring experiences on their career development?
2. How well did the workshops accomplish their major goals of developing leadership in
research skills, enhancing mentoring relationships and building professional networks?
3. What influence has the project had on the career goals and research agendas of the
participants?
4. What influence has the project had on the institution in terms of increased female leadership in
research and administration of research?
The matrix below outlines major evaluation tasks and timelines.
Major Evaluation Tasks and Questions
Methods/Timeline
Evaluation Planning Workshop with Project
Staff and Stakeholders
Over the course of the project, how do senior
and mid-year female scientists describe the
influence of their mentoring experiences on
their career development?
How well did the workshops accomplish their
major goals of developing leadership in
research skills enhancing mentoring
relationships and building professional
networks?
Early in year 1
Estimate of
Evaluator Time
(data collection /
analysis)
2 days
3 interviews/yr of each senior
and mid-career participant
(fall, winter, after workshop)
10 days
Quantitative evaluation of
each workshop; follow up
interviews with 10 participants
5 days
What influence has the project had on the
career goals and research agendas of the
participants?
What influence has the project had on the
institution in terms of increased female
leadership in research and administration of
research?
Explored in each of the 3
yearly interviews,
documentation of research
grants to participants
Document review of research
grants to MSU, interviews
with MSU leadership and
project leadership (6
interviews)
(included above)
5 days
Administrative Structure. The BSLI will be administered through the Office of the Vice-President for
Research, Creativity, and Technology Transfer, under the supervision of the Dr. Susan Capalbo,
Director of Special Projects for Enhancing Diversity. Dr. Capalbo is the proposal PI. Co-PI’s are: Dr.
Anne Camper, Associate Dean of the College of Engineering; Dr. Graumlich, Director of MSU’s Big
Sky Institute; Dr. Gwen Jacobs, Head of the Department of Cell and Neurobiology at MSU; and Dr.
Susanne Monahan, Head of the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at MSU. All senior
personnel of the program are tenured and have established distinguished academic careers coupled
with leadership experience.
Principal Investigator and co-PIs.The PI (Dr. Susan Capalbo) and three of the co-PIs (Drs. Anne
Camper, Lisa Graumlich and Gwen Jacobs) are profiled in the section on the senior mentoring track.
The fourth co-PI, Dr. Susanne C. Monahan, is an organizational sociologist with expertise in
religious, governmental and medical organizations. Currently, she is collaborating on a Robert Wood
Johnson/NSF-funded study of hospital HIPAA compliance (PI: Mark Suchman, University of
Wisconsin-Madison) and a study of e-government in small communities (NSF, pending). In addition,
she is chair of the University’s Diversity Steering Committee and a former member of the University’s
Promotion and Tenure Committee.
Dr. Capalbo will oversee the project activities, including the activities of the Advisory Committee and
the dissemination of the project results. She will devote 15 percent of her time to these tasks and is
being funded directly from the MSU VP Research Office commitment to the project. In addition, the
five senior participants will provide a 10% time commitment to this project including the senior
mentoring track and the other cascading mentoring components. These commitments are noted in the
letters provided in the supplemental section. Dr. Monahan will devote ten percent of her time in each
of the grant years to workshop development and administration of the mid-career mentoring program.
This is reflected in the proposal budget.
Evaluation and Assessment Personnel: As an integral part of the program, we will be undertaking an
evaluation and assessment of the three major tracks. The design and plan for this is described earlier
in the proposal. Joan LaFrance (her bio is included in the supplemental materials) is the external
evaluator. Her experience includes project evaluation for a number of NSF funded projects including
the Center for Teaching and Learning in the West, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium,
and the TCUP projects in Montana. She has extensive experience with underserved minorities in the
Northwest. Her efforts will be supported by the PI and co-PIs with some oversight with the Advisory
Committee. Her time commitment is indicated earlier.
Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee is composed of the PI and four co-PIs along with
internal (on-campus) and external members. The full committee will meet in person during the first
and final years of the project and via telephone conference calls. The Committee will: (1) review,
revise and approve plans for the four intensive workshops; (2) assist with identification and
recruitment of mid-career mentoring and workshop participants; (3) serve as the selection committee
for mid-career mentoring and workshop participants; (4) monitor the on-going evaluation and
assessment of the program; and (5) make recommendations for the dissemination of project results and
the sustainability of the program.
Advisory Committee members have been selected on the basis of their expertise in research leadership
skills, diversity issues, and career S&E achievements. External members include: Dr. Ed Lazowski,
University of Washington and Dr. Julia King, Imperial College (London). Internal members include:
Dr. Sara Jayne Steen, Dean of the College of Letters & Science, Dr. Robert Marley, Dean of the
College of Engineering, Dr. Mark Young, NSF-EPSCoR Director for Montana, Ms. Sara Young ,
Director of American Indian Research Opportunities at MSU and Ms. Corlee Ann Bush, MSU
Human Resources/Affirmative Action Director. Dr. Mark Young provides the critical link with the
efforts of NSF EPSCoR-MONTS program and will provide resources for one of the presenters at each
the workshop, coordinated through the EPSCoR Invited Speakers Program.
Timeline.
PROJECT
ACTIVITY
Advisory
Committee
meets
Evaluation
planning
meeting
Senior
mentoring
track visits
Mid-career
mentoring
(two
participants)
Mid-career
mentoring
(three
participants)
Formative
evaluation
data
gathering &
reporting
Jan06
Apr06
Jul06
Oct06
Jan07
Apr07
Jul07
Oct07
Jan08
Apr08
Jul08
Oct08
Workshop I
Workshop II
Workshop
III
Workshop
IV
Summative
evaluation
data
gathering &
reporting
PRIOR NSF SUPPORT:
A very brief overview of the NSF support garnered by the senior personnel indicates their collective
record of research achievements and their leadership in large projects that promote integration of
science, education and outreach.
Gwen Jacobs has two current NSF-funded projects: (1) A Dynamic Atlas of the Cricket Cercal
Sensory System: NSF IBN 0090966, Total Cost: $241,292, Funding Period: 07/01 - 07/05, G.
Jacobs, PI and (2) “Optimality of a Sensory Receptor Array” NSF IOB-0515290 Total Costs:
$599,105 Funding Period 9/05 – 8/08 PI Tomas Gedeon, Co-Is G. Jacobs, J. Miller
Anne Camper has one currently funded NSF-funded project: NSF/EEC-0138579 4/02 - 3/05
$195,000 Research Experience for Undergraduates at MSU's Center for Biofilm Engineering
(CBE). This program built upon ten year's worth of REU program experience through the ERC
program.
Susan Capalbo has one funded project: Economically Optimal Spatial Scale for Integrated
Assessment of Agricultural Production Systems. NSF IBN 9980225. 06/2000 to 11/2003 Total
Cost: $275,000 PI is John Antle, co-PI's S.Capalbo; S.Mooney; K.Paustian. This project
develops a conceptual and empirical framework for determining the economically optimal
spatial scale for integrated assessment of agricultural production systems that are characterized
by spatially variable economic and bio-physical processes, resulted in 7 refereed journal
articles
Lisa Graumlich has a long history of NSF funding for research related to climate change, and its
impacts on ecosystems and human systems that have resulted in a series of innovative
publications and the training of graduate students and post docs (e.g., NSF ATM 00-82376,
Precipitation variability in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem as inferred from 1000+ year
tree-ring records; 2000-2004, $243,228). In 2005, she was awarded $1.7M from NSF’s GK-12
Program to create partnerships between Ph.D. students in the environmental sciences and K-12
teachers in rural classrooms in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (NSF GK-12 0440594). In
this project, we seek to advance scientific literacy by bringing to classrooms and to rural
communities scientific research on topics that relate to the management of a large, diverse and
complex ecosystem in which these communities are embedded. The GK12 project is
exemplary of Graumlich’s success in creating university-community partnerships to further
broad goals of sustainable ecosystem management in mountain communities.
Susanne Monahan has one funded project: E-government in rural communities: Developing a
Customer Service Approach to Enhancing Civic Engagement. SGER#0352382 (2004). Total
Cost: $20,000. This planning grant produced a full-scale proposal submitted to Digital
Government Program in May 2005.
In addition, MSU has received two NSF/ADVANCE Fellow awards: (1) Sarah Codd, “Advance
Fellows Award: NMR Microscopy” 2/1/04 – 1/31/07 $387,498. Subsequent to receiving this
award she was hired into a tenure-track position in the Department of Chemical and Biological
Engineering at MSU, and (2) Linda Young, “Advance Fellows Award: The WTO and Food
Aid: Preserving Humanitarian and Development Benefits” 2/1/04-1/31/07 $379,380.