Overview | Advance RIT

AdvanceRIT's mission is to enable all faculty at RIT, particularly women, to contribute their full potential, to increase their representation and retention, and to advance their careers.

AdvanceRIT goals are to play an instrumental role in:

Connecting and engaging women faculty in the RIT community.

Providing opportunities for professional and leadership development for women faculty.

Supporting efforts for recruiting a diverse faculty critical for achieving excellence in scholarship, teaching, and service.

Partnering with affiliated groups, departments, and colleges to support their efforts and bring positive change to RIT.

Improving the quality of women faculty’s work life.

Ensuring RIT is a place where all faculty are supported, valued, and respected.

AdvanceRIT started as an Institutional Transformation grant from the National Science Foundation (Grant No. 1209115) and was institutionalized in 2018.

AdvanceRIT implements interventions that influence and transform the workplace culture of RIT at a structural level and promotes inclusion of all subpopulations and minority groups.

AdvanceRIT main programmatic efforts include the Connectivity series professional development workshops and the Connect grants program. These grants provide funding that promote faculty career success that align with the AdvanceRIT program goals. These efforts are informed by the AdvanceRIT faculty advisory board, the Council for the Representation & Engagement of Women Faculty (CREW) and by institutional partners.

AdvanceRIT and our institutional partners review faculty data and feedback, such as representation data and climate studies at RIT, and benchmark best practices for recruitment, retention, and advancement of women faculty. This information is used to inform programmatic efforts and for advocating for support structures and policies in support of faculty career success.