Year 1: October 2015 through May 2016

Advocate Selection. The PIs and advocate coordinator, in consultation with the women advisory group, selected their first group of advocates at the respective institutions.  Minimally, most institutions have 10 Advocates per institution. Advocates are selected for one-year, renewable terms.  Advocates are expected to be active and effective proponents of gender diversity and equality specifically in terms of increasing the number of female faculty, encouraging the hiring and promotion of female faculty in administrative positions, and ensuring the fair and equitable treatment of women within their units. Timeline: The time was October of 2015.

Ally Training.  Site-specific Ally Training took place between November 2015 - April 2016.  Two to three NDSU advocate trainers conducted multiple Ally training sessions in concert with the assigned Advocate Coordinator.  Trainings were customized to reflect institution-specific characteristics and data.  They were carried out respectively at the University of Wyoming (Jerry Hamann, November 2015), the Rochester Institute of Technology (Robert Garrick, January, 2016); the University of North Texas (John Kuruvilla, February 2016); and the Ohio State University (Rudolph Buchheit, March 2016).  Ally Training focused on helping men understand male privilege and equipping them with skills for enhancing their department climate and supporting their female colleagues.

Monthly Advocate Meetings. The Advocate Coordinator at each partner institution organizes monthly men-only meetings of their respective advocate groups.  Initial activities include development of the mission statement, membership guidelines, meeting organization and structure, and an action list that is aligned with the priorities and recommendations of the institution’s women advisory group.  Throughout the year, advocates improve awareness and knowledge through recommended readings and by attending the NDSU-organized ally training.  Each advocate group adapted NDSU training materials in preparation for their year-2 delivery of Ally trainings.  Advocate Coordinators also established regular contact with their respective women advisory groups and communicated with NDSU advocate coordinators at least once per semester.  The timeline was October 2015 through May 2016.

Knowledge Building/Evaluation/Dissemination. NDSU worked with the partner institutions to ensure IRB approval for the proposed evaluation and research.  The NDSU evaluation team coordinated with partner institutions in the administration of evaluation instruments and the collection and analysis of evaluation data.  The evaluation team began to compile and analyze evaluation data, almost immediately; project results are used to modify and adapt the program as necessary.  The timeline was October 2015 through May 2016.