Panyam fills the position vacated last year by Sean Sullivan, who returned to the faculty after more than eight years in the role. Peggy Odegard has been serving as interim dean.

Panyam comes to the UW from Temple University School of Pharmacy, where he has been dean since 2019. Prior to that, he was an endowed professor and head of the Department of Pharmaceutics in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota.

鈥淲e welcome Jay鈥檚 extensive experience in discovering new therapeutics, advancing the pharmaceutical profession, broadening access to students and supporting faculty,鈥� the provost said.

At Temple, Panyam focused on pharmacy education and research. He has extensive experience training pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists, supporting faculty in their advancement, and with student recruitment and admissions.

Panyam鈥檚 research is primarily focused on investigating the mechanisms of drug delivery with an emphasis on understanding how various biological factors influence the effectiveness of delivery systems. The ultimate goal, Panyam said, is to use the knowledge from these studies to devise advanced delivery systems that can be effectively translated to the clinic.

鈥淭he UW School of Pharmacy has a long history of leadership in all aspects of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences 鈥� education, scholarship and practice,鈥� Panyam said. 鈥淚 am honored and excited to serve as the next dean.鈥�

In his role as dean, Panyam has been an advocate for pharmacists and has been actively engaged in advancing the profession. His efforts, in collaboration with the deans of the other pharmacy schools in the Commonwealth, led to changes in pharmacy practice regulations in the state, during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also been instrumental in exploring and creating new practice sites, shared positions and billing models for pharmacy practice faculty members.

Panyam earned his bachelor鈥檚 in pharmacy from The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University in Chennai, India, and his master鈥檚 in pharmacy from Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India. He earned his doctoral degree in pharmaceutical science from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb.

Nafukho replaces Cheryl Cameron, who is continuing聽her service in the School of Dentistry鈥檚 Department of Oral Health Sciences, where she holds the Virginia and Prentice Bloedel Endowed Professorship.

Currently, Nafukho is the senior associate dean for faculty affairs and professor of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development at Texas A&M University, which he joined as an associate professor and program chair in 2007. He also is the co-director of the university鈥檚 Educational Leadership Research Center.

鈥淲e look forward to Fred鈥檚 leadership, collaborative approach and dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion and faculty success,鈥� Richards said. Richards added that he and President Ana Mari Cauce were grateful to have Nafukho join the UW.

As senior associate dean at Texas A&M, Nafukho supports faculty from pre-recruitment to retirement, as well as fiscal management and operation of the School of Education and Human Development. He leads the School鈥檚 work on faculty searches, hiring, onboarding, tenure and promotion, and faculty development, wellness, salary equity adjustments, and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

鈥淎s a preeminent institution with an outstanding academic culture of excellence and a commitment to innovation, UW鈥檚 core values and mission inspire me to imagine a boundless future,鈥� Nafukho said. 鈥淚t is the conviction to create a better world together that excites me about this role. I am honored to partner and collaborate with the diverse, creative and talented faculty, professional staff and student body. I look forward to working collaboratively with the leadership team, faculty and Faculty Senate to lead a transformational plan to support UW鈥檚 academic personnel from pre-recruitment to retirement and beyond.鈥�

At Texas A&M, Nafukho also teaches graduate courses in educational statistics and human resource development. His research has focused on preparing leaders from underserved schools and entrepreneurial training in STEM fields.

He holds a doctorate in Leadership and Human Resource Development from Louisiana State University, as well as bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in Education from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya.

The 天美影视传媒鈥檚 campus again is bustling as students began moving into residence halls on Tuesday and will participate in annual fall activities for incoming undergraduates. About 10,000 students are expected to move into campus housing this week.

“There’s definitely a lot of energy and everyone is excited to be back on campus,” said Andrew Line, a student with the UW Residential Community Student Association.

Provost Mark Richards greeted students near north campus residence halls Tuesday while UW President Ana Mari Cauce welcomed students on Wednesday at the dorms near Denny Field. Move-in days are an all-hands-on-deck effort for UW Housing & Food Services, and dozens of staff and student leaders helped students move into their new homes over the course of the week.

On Sunday, President Cauce and other campus leaders will officially welcome the new class with Convocation, this year held in-person at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion for the first time since 2019. Immediately following Convocation, students will form a giant 鈥榃鈥� on Husky Field.

Fall quarter classes begin on Wednesday, Sept. 28. See a .

Lawson will replace UW Professor , who has served as interim dean since the beginning of the calendar year.

Lawson comes to the UW from her position as dean and professor at St. Thomas University College of Law in Miami. Prior to becoming dean, she was the associate dean for academic affairs and associate dean for faculty development. She is the chair of the Law Professors Division of the National Bar Association and a board member of the Law School Admission Council. In addition, she is a member of the Board of Governors for the Society of American Law Teachers.

鈥淒ean Lawson brings a wealth of experience and expertise in enrollment and student success, financial management, fundraising, and diversity and inclusion in the field of law, as well as impressive scholarship in criminal law,鈥� Richards said. 鈥淲e expect that, under Dean Lawson鈥檚 leadership, the UW School of Law will be strengthened in each of these areas.鈥�

As one of the nation’s oldest and leading public law schools, the UW School of Law melds a traditional focus on the rule of law with a modern approach to solving problems and advancing social justice. Students are actively encouraged to explore their passions and equip themselves with the intellectual tools and hands-on legal experience they need to be practice-ready attorneys able to work in any field they choose.

鈥淚鈥檓 inspired by UW Law鈥檚 commitment to academic excellence while rooted in its core values of access to justice and public service,鈥� Lawson said. 鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled to join the law school community to partner with the exceptional faculty, staff, students and alumni to realize our shared vision to be the best public law school measured by global impact.鈥�

As administrative, financial and academic officer at St. Thomas University College of Law, Lawson鈥檚 areas of responsibility include development, budget, leadership of academic programs, bar passage initiatives, personnel management, alumni relations and external affairs. Under her leadership, the College increased enrollment by 38% 鈥� to 769 students 鈥� while raising entering credentials.

Lawson also has managed a successful American Bar Association (ABA) and American Association of Law Schools (AALS) site visit and accreditation process. She has chaired multiple sections of AALS, including Evidence, Law and Humanities, and Women in Legal Education, as well as being appointed to the AALS Deans Steering Committee. As associate dean, Lawson led the faculty, unanimously, to reform the College鈥檚 entire curriculum for the three-year J.D. program.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Lawson guided law faculty efforts to move teaching and learning online, which continued into summer 2020 and attracted record enrollment that generated more than $1 million in additional tuition revenue compared to the previous summer.

Lawson brings demonstrated financial and fundraising experience to the UW. She secured a $10 million gift commitment, the largest in the University of St. Thomas鈥� history, and turned a budget deficit into a substantial surplus. Additionally, she founded the Benjamin L. Crump Center for Social Justice, which she launched with a $1 million leadership grant from Truist Financial. The pro bono service program provides 20,000 service hours each year.

Throughout her administrative career, Lawson has been engaged in teaching, scholarship and service. Recognized twice as Professor of the Year, she has taught courses in criminal law, criminal procedure and evidence, in addition to a seminar on race and the law. She also continues to publish regularly and provides implicit bias training to prosecutors, in addition to working as the reporter for the ABA鈥檚 National Task Force on Stand Your Ground Laws.

Prior to her academic career, Lawson served as deputy district attorney at the Clark County District Attorney鈥檚 Office in Las Vegas. As a criminal prosecutor, she worked in the Special Victims Unit for Domestic Violence, arguing multiple cases before the Nevada Supreme Court.

Lawson earned her Master of Laws with Distinction from Georgetown Law, her Juris Doctor from University of San Francisco School of Law, and her bachelor鈥檚 degree from Claremont McKenna College in California.

Dr. Ritter will replace , who is retiring for health reasons.

Currently a professor in New York University鈥檚 College of Dentistry, Dr. Ritter has extensive clinical experience in various settings, from private practice to community public health clinics. He has served as executive dean of the University of North Carolina鈥檚 Adams School of Dentistry, as well as chair of the Department of Cariology and Comprehensive Care at NYU. He maintains a private dental faculty practice through NYU, as he did for 18 years at UNC.

鈥淥ver the past few years under Dean Gary Chiodo鈥檚 leadership, the School of Dentistry has made significant progress in addressing its financial challenges. And, with Dr. Ritter鈥檚 impressive record of leadership in the clinical realm, we are confident that he will continue to improve the School鈥檚 facilities and revenue models and advance the School鈥檚 long-term financial picture,鈥� Richards said. 鈥淭hroughout the interview process, Dr. Ritter expressed his commitment to strengthening the UW dental community, both within and beyond the University, and we look forward to supporting his work in that.鈥�

The UW School of Dentistry is widely recognized as one of the top programs in the country and the world. The school, established in 1945, has a strong foundation steeped in research, clinical care, education and service.

鈥淒entistry is rapidly evolving, and schools and programs have to adapt and innovate to be successful,鈥� Dr. Ritter said. 鈥淭o lead the UW School of Dentistry and further elevate its status as a leader in global oral healthcare education, innovation, research and care delivery, and to do so while advancing the mission of one of the world鈥檚 preeminent public universities, is an unparalleled opportunity.鈥�

As department chair at NYU, Dr. Ritter led 300 faculty members and was responsible for staffing at all dental clinics and 14 group practices. He created and facilitated diversity, equity and inclusion open forums and trainings, and led his department through COVID-19 accommodations and modifications to ensure that students could take courses required for graduation and promotion.

At UNC, where Dr. Ritter oversaw a school-wide operational budget of $70 million, he was responsible for IT; human resources; diversity, equity and inclusion; faculty development; clinical compliance and infection control; institutional effectiveness; facilities and infrastructure; faculty promotion and tenure; wellness; continuing education; and dental faculty practice board. Dr. Ritter also served as chair of the UNC Department of Operative Dentistry and led the department through its successful 2017 CODA accreditation site visit.

His research interests include diagnosis and management of tooth decay, conservative and minimally invasive restorative dentistry, esthetics, dental adhesion and composite resin applications.

Dr. Ritter earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery from Federal University of Santa Catarina in Brazil, his Master of Science in operative dentistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his Master of Business Administration in health-care administration from Northeastern University in Boston, and his doctorate in dentistry from Universidade Positivo in Brazil.

never thought she鈥檇 achieve a doctoral degree, never mind landing a tenure-track job at the 天美影视传媒. Raised in Mexico, she moved to California when she was 11, and she鈥檚 the first in her family to earn a Ph. D. She once believed that a career in academia was unattainable due to the obstacles placed in society for people of color.

Now an assistant professor of Spanish at the UW and director of the Heritage Language Program, Amezcua said coming to the university directly from a doctoral program was intimidating. It was a new place, a new position, and she is breaking ground in a new field. But Amezcua said she feels at home thanks, in part, to an effort designed to support and retain underrepresented groups and first-generation faculty at UW.

鈥淚 just felt so reassured that I made the right decision,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ot only did I feel validated, but I felt like I was going to be receiving support.鈥�

It鈥檚 all part of a multi-pronged effort introduced last year to diversify the faculty ranks at UW and fits within the Race and Equity Initiative the university launched in 2015.

Amezcua participates in a new Faculty Development Program led by UW sociology professor . The inaugural cohort has 28 faculty from the Seattle and Tacoma campuses. These new faculty are paired with a mentor 鈥� a tenured professor 鈥� from their academic unit. There are workshops and discussions to provide supportive spaces to build community, network and foster professional development.

鈥淲e have created this program because we cannot be an excellent university without a racially and ethnically diverse faculty,鈥� said Harris, the UW Presidential Term Professor and special assistant to the provost. 鈥淲e cannot just hire diverse faculty, but we need to fully support our colleagues of color and ensure our community is a space where everyone can flourish, particularly at a predominantly white university.”

Provost Mark Richards last year announced the Faculty Diversity Initiative, a multimillion-dollar effort that included funding to hire and support diverse faculty. At his annual Town Hall Tuesday, Richards touted UW鈥檚 hiring trends and anecdotal feedback and noted that more work is necessary.

鈥淲e are making some strides in this direction 鈥� though there鈥檚 still a long way to go,鈥� Richards said.

Students benefit from a university with faculty members whose knowledge and understanding represent the diversity of Washington state, as do the people and communities that benefit from the UW鈥檚 research and scholarship, Richards said. Additionally, a diverse faculty signal to historically marginalized students, especially underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, that teaching and research careers are accessible, achievable and encouraged.

Nearly 27% of new hires into tenure-track positions in 2021 are from underrepresented populations, mostly Black and Latinx, Richards said, the most diverse new faculty cohort in recent UW history and a significant increase over previous years. What鈥檚 more, the number of underrepresented faculty in tenure/tenure track positions has increased 22% since 2017, and the number of women faculty in tenure/tenure track positions has increased 6.4% in that same timeframe.

鈥淢aintaining our fidelity to our public mission depends upon BIPOC scholars being offered jobs, joining, staying and leading our academic community,鈥� Richards said. 鈥淣ow is the time for us to make these efforts a more explicit, invested and systemic behavior at UW. Further and more critically, the Faculty Diversity Initiative is building upon efforts of generations of BIPOC faculty whose labor toward these ends has often gone unacknowledged and now must be properly centered and recognized.鈥�

In addition to UW鈥檚 Faculty Development Program, the university is taking multiple approaches to diversify the faculty and support underrepresented tenure-track groups.

The Office for Faculty Advancement in the past year presented 67 anti-bias workshops to faculty hiring committees, as well as two anti-bias webinars available to all UW employees.

At UW Medicine, launched the (SURF) program. Like the Faculty Development Program, this is a 12-month, small-group program focused on career development, coaching and peer co-learning for incoming medical faculty.

鈥淲e are investing in this important work to ensure the success, retention and recruitment of underrepresented minority faculty, and to realize the UW Medicine mission of an anti-racist institution that maximizes the potential of all faculty to improve the health of the public,鈥� Doll said.

Getting to know the UW and meeting faculty across campus has been invaluable, said , an assistant professor of marketing at the Foster School of Business. Given that she is the only Black tenure-track faculty at Foster, connection to a larger community through the Faculty Development Program is especially important.

鈥淗aving a sense of community can really help make the experience more enriching,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are able to learn from each other鈥檚 journeys as well as what it means to be faculty within the classroom and a research scholar. The program helps us gain access to faculty and administrators who are at various stages of their careers so we can truly envision our own careers at UW.鈥�

That sentiment was echoed by , an assistant professor of sociology. He sought out the UW to launch his faculty career because of the university鈥檚 reputation for forward-facing research that鈥檚 connected to community.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 been encouraging so far is the fact that although we are in different disciplines, have maybe different research agendas or different reasons for why we entered this profession, we’re here,鈥� he said.

In academia, where so much emphasis is placed on producing the next research paper or publication, Ince said he now is part of a cohort that also supports him in celebrating small achievements in the moment.

鈥淚t’s encouraged me to again look outward and recognize the commonality that I have with other faculty of color, rather than the things that may direct differences,鈥� Ince said. 鈥淲hat’s giving me hope is the fact that I know that I have a community that cares about me holistically and not just about what I can produce.鈥�

For more information, contact Harris at yharris@uw.edu.

Dennis Hartmann, professor of Atmospheric Sciences, has agreed to serve as interim dean in the from July 1 until Maya Tolstoy begins as the Maggie Walker Dean on Jan. 1, 2022.

聽previously served as interim dean of the College when it formed in 2009 until July 1, 2010, when the outgoing dean, Lisa Graumlich, began her term. As an atmospheric scientist who studies the atmosphere鈥檚 role in climate variability and change, and how the atmosphere interacts with the ocean in a changing climate, Hartmann鈥檚 principal areas of expertise are atmospheric dynamics, remote sensing, and mathematical and statistical techniques for data analysis. He has been an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow and has received numerous awards throughout his career, including the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal and the Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal from the American Meteorological Society. Hartmann is an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

At the , Lauren Pressley and Denise Pan have agreed to share the duties of dean until Sept. 1, when Simon Neame begins his term. Pressley will hold the formal title of interim dean, while she and Pan will share the business title of co-interim deans.

As associate dean for research and learning services, is responsible for strategic visioning, policy and program development, management, and overall excellence in Access Services, Information Technology Services and Digital Strategies, Learning Services, Research Services, and Scholarly Communication and Publishing. Prior this, she was an associate dean of the UW Libraries and director of the UW Tacoma campus library. Pressley also was the director of聽Learning Environments for Virginia Tech University Libraries and held several roles related to instruction and technology at Wake Forest University鈥檚 library.

is the associate dean of University Libraries for Collections and Content, leading the areas of Acquisitions and Rapid Cataloging Services, Cataloging and Metadata Services, Collection Analysis and Strategy and Preservation Services. Previously, she was the associate director of technical services for the Auraria Library, administered by the University of Colorado Denver, which also serves the Metropolitan State University of Denver and the Community College of Denver. Prior to that, Pan was the public services librarian at the Johnson & Wales University, Denver Campus.

This requirement follows the release of new from the Washington Department of Labor & Industries. Vaccinations are provided free of charge to individuals at UW Medicine 鈥� including at the UW Medical Center 鈥� Montlake on the Seattle campus 鈥� as well as at clinics, pharmacies and many other locations in Seattle and in Pierce and Snohomish counties.

鈥淭he FDA-authorized vaccines聽鈥� which are based on technology that鈥檚 been under development for more than two decades聽鈥� are safe and effective. Widespread vaccination is our ticket to a return to in-person learning and working as we create the 鈥榥ew normal鈥� for our University, and we encourage you to get vaccinated as soon as you鈥檙e able,鈥� wrote UW President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Mark Richards in a message to the University community.

Faculty and staff will need to confirm they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 by autumn quarter in order to work on the UW鈥檚 campuses or within its facilities. Similar to the student requirement, employees will be allowed to seek exemptions for medical, religious or philosophical reasons.

This decision follows consultations with faculty and staff leadership, as well as the state, and work is underway on how this requirement will be implemented. More details will be shared in early summer on how employees can confirm they have been vaccinated or apply for an exemption. These will include how this requirement will interact with the existing UW Medicine employee vaccine survey, as well as its application to faculty affiliates or staff who do not come to UW campuses or facilities and those employees who work out of state.

The Department of Labor & Industries鈥� addresses vaccine verification and health and safety requirements for fully vaccinated and unvaccinated employees. Additional guidance is expected before the state鈥檚 planned lifting of most health restrictions on June 30.

President Cauce and Provost Mark Richard鈥檚 complete message to campus can be found at聽uw.edu/coronavirus.

For more information, contact Michelle Ma at mcma@uw.edu.

The 天美影视传媒 today announced an initiative to further the UW鈥檚 goals for diversity, equity and inclusion, including $5 million in funding for faculty hiring in the next two years. The initiative builds upon and supports efforts University wide and aims to accelerate and benchmark progress on an annual basis.

Efforts to recruit, welcome and retain a diverse faculty are central to the UW鈥檚 public mission to build a more equitable and just society for everyone, administrators said.

Students benefit from a university with faculty members whose knowledge and understanding represent the diversity of Washington state, as do the people and communities that benefit from the UW鈥檚 research and scholarship. Additionally, this signals to historically-marginalized students, especially underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities, that teaching and research careers are accessible, achievable and encouraged.

鈥淲e know that the UW must better reflect the communities we serve, which requires short- and long-term changes to make our University a place where faculty from diverse backgrounds feel they belong,鈥� said UW Provost Mark Richards. 鈥淭he University鈥檚 academic leadership, including the Board of Deans and Chancellors, are determined to change this status quo for this generation of students, and for those to come.鈥�

Since 2015, the UW鈥檚 Race and Equity Initiative has focused on transforming institutional policies and practices, and accelerating systemic change. A significant focus of this work 鈥� and one of the goals of the Diversity Blueprint developed in 2010 鈥� has been recruiting faculty who will advance diversity, equity and inclusion through their teaching, research and service.

鈥淢any academic units have made some progress, but we have a long way to go, including ensuring that the structural conditions that contribute to racial inequities are addressed at the unit and university-wide level so that BIPOC faculty can thrive and be successful,鈥� Richards said.

Based on an examination of best practices across the nation, in consultation with the members of the Race & Equity Steering Committee and Faculty Senate leadership, as well as deans and administrators, and consistent with Regent Policy 33, the UW will over the next two years:

• Designate $3 million in bridge funding in this fiscal year 2021, and another $2 million in fiscal year 2022, to support recruitment of faculty to the Seattle campus whose research, teaching, mentoring, service and outreach will enhance the UW鈥檚 diversity mission and goals for equity and inclusion.
• Redirect existing central funds for the recruitment and retention of faculty to focus specifically upon faculty who will advance the campus鈥� goals for diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Require that all faculty searches include statements from candidates describing their past and planned contributions to diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Request聽that deans of all schools and colleges examine whether聽hiring, reappointment and promotion criteria for faculty can be enhanced to support diversity, equity and inclusion within their units.
• Host a new national program, with funding from the National Science Foundation and the Washington Research Foundation, to identify outstanding Ph.D. students and post-doctoral fellows from underrepresented groups, and support them as they develop their ambitions and qualifications to become STEM faculty at research universities, including the UW.

鈥淩esearch is at its most creative and robust when researchers with diverse backgrounds and perspectives interact,鈥� said Mary Lidstrom, vice provost for research. 鈥淭his initiative will continue efforts to support diversity, equity and inclusion in research, enhancing the research enterprise for all.鈥�

Similar initiatives are in progress at UW Bothell and UW Tacoma. UW Tacoma will focus on hiring and supporting clusters of faculty who have expertise and focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice issues. UW Bothell leadership has designated bridge funding for the next two years to help departments recruit faculty who advance diversity.

鈥淔aculty Senate leadership prioritizes issues of racial justice and understands the importance of making a concerted effort to recruit and support faculty who advance diversity,鈥� said Robin Angotti, chair of the Faculty Senate and a professor of mathematics at UW Bothell. 鈥淲e look forward to working closely with administration to make measurable advances in these areas.鈥�

Additionally, the provost has tasked Ed Taylor, vice provost of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, to convene a sub-group of the Race & Equity Steering Committee, to take this work to the next level over the coming year. This group鈥檚 work will include, but will not be limited to, addressing several long-term goals:

• Improve the on-boarding process for new faculty, including welcoming, orientation, community building and mentoring that meets the needs of faculty from under-represented backgrounds.
• Enhance the depth and availability of and familiarity with data regarding faculty demographics.
• Develop a systematic faculty exit interview process to identify and address climate issues that have prompted some faculty to leave the UW.
• Increase fundraising efforts that support the University,聽schools and colleges聽as they聽create聽endowments to recruit and retain faculty who contribute to the UW鈥檚 diversity, equity and inclusion goals; recruit聽early career scholars who may be developed and聽retained聽to tenure-track faculty positions; and聽fund research and scholarship in support of campus diversity, equity and inclusion goals, among other efforts.

The UW鈥檚 Race & Equity Steering Committee will update President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Richards in November on the collective successes and failures of these initial efforts and address the following questions: How significantly have we moved the needle in 2021? How can we do better? And what more needs to be done?

鈥淚 have been impressed, during these most difficult pandemic times, with the determination and actions of our faculty and campus leaders to attract faculty who advance our diversity, equity and inclusion goals,鈥� Richards said. 鈥淭he pandemic itself has made the urgency of this mission all the more clear by exposing the stark inequities that continue to divide our nation and cause so much pain to so many in our communities.鈥�

At our nation鈥檚 research universities, including the 天美影视传媒, underrepresented minorities make up less than 6% of the faculty across non-medical science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. This severe underrepresentation among faculty has persisted for decades and comes, in part, from a lack of diversity among the doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars in these fields who elect to pursue faculty positions.

In turn, the lack of diverse science and engineering faculty discourages students of color from pursuing degrees in these fields 鈥� a negative feedback loop that has proven difficult to break.

With the help of new grants from the National Science Foundation and the Washington Research Foundation, UW is attempting to address this problem by combining efforts across an alliance of top research universities.

鈥淭he time has come for change,鈥� said UW Provost Mark Richards. 鈥淣ot years from now, but in the immediate future.鈥�

The newly formed Research University Alliance joins UW with eight other leading research institutions, including University of California, Berkeley; California Institute of Technology; University of California, Los Angeles; Stanford University; University of Michigan; Harvard University; Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Texas at Austin.

Based on a well-tested precursor, the California Alliance, the larger Research University Alliance is working at many levels to redefine how doctoral students are mentored into the postdoctoral ranks, and how postdoctoral scholars are hired and mentored into faculty positions.

The Research University Alliance funds exchange visits across all of the nine partnering institutions, matching students and postdocs with faculty hosts in their area of research. Visits allow these early career scientists to share their work and ideas, learn new techniques and approaches, engage in collaborative discussions and innovation, and broaden their career opportunities. Annual retreats bringing all exchange participants together and professional development programming are also major components of the work of the alliance.

A key component of this effort 鈥� connecting underrepresented minority senior doctoral students with postdoctoral opportunities across the alliance 鈥� will be led by UW, under the co-direction of College of Environment Associate Dean Julia Parrish, Graduate School Dean Joy Williamson-Lott and Provost Richards.

The statistics are concerning. Just 8.5% of doctoral students in these science and engineering departments identified as underrepresented minorities, significantly lower than the demographics of the U.S. But these numbers are halved at the postdoc and faculty levels 鈥� to just 3.9% of postdoctoral researchers and faculty.

“That loss is a crucial starting point,鈥� Parrish said.

Unlike the hiring process for faculty, which usually involves advertising open positions, the hiring of postdoctoral researchers has relied more on word-of-mouth networks among academics.

“Put simply, we are looking to establish a new network at the graduate and postdoc level that doesn’t depend on who you already know or are connected to, but is instead dependent on the excellent, interesting, edgy work that they do,” said Parrish. This new system will vastly improve upon the old networks.

As part of the alliance, the UW is creating a web portal for postdocs and senior graduate students to showcase their work, and for participating university partners to post postdoctoral positions.

鈥淚n many fields, postdocs are vital positions to hold before becoming faculty or before becoming an entrepreneur,鈥� said Williamson-Lott. 鈥淚t’s an incredibly important space. And so we want to force that space open to allow more people to be able to enter it, and compete in it, and then benefit from it.鈥�

The Washington Research Foundation is dedicated to the diversification of science, Richards said, and the Washington state-based organization鈥檚 funding, $50,000 per year for the next four years, will be paired with the NSF/AGEP funds and funds from the Colleges of Engineering, Arts & Sciences, and Environment, and the Applied Physics Laboratory to allow UW to join with other institutions and meet the goal to attract more diverse candidates to the postdoc ranks and the professoriate.

鈥淚’m glad to be part of an institution that values diversity, pursues it aggressively and refuses to stand still, and wants to be part of the solution rather than the problem,鈥� Williamson-Lott said. 鈥淚t speaks very highly for our institution to participate in this.鈥�

For more information, contact Parrish at jparrish@uw.edu.