How do we recruit, support, and retain diverse faculty? Reflections from our discussion series
Patricia Marsteller, Emory University
Equity, inclusion, diversity, and justice are foundational in effective higher education settings, including STEM disciplines. Our ASCN working group brings together communities whose work focuses on justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity (JEDI) in higher education. In spring 2021, we focused on a series of informal conversations centered on recruiting diverse faculty. In the series we discussed: Why recruiting diverse faculty is important. Promising practices for department leaders, such as creating detailed and inclusive recruitment plans, utilizing cluster hires, broadening searches, using faculty search advocates, and providing JEDI education for faculty and for search committees. Working with other institutional actors (e.g., data analysts, deans) for institutional and departmental reflections, hiring plans, and data needs.

2023 Transforming Institutions Conference Takeaways
Casey Wright, Western Michigan University
The 2023 Transforming Institutions Conference was held June 12-13, 2023, in Minneapolis, MN. With this most recent convening, we are proud to have brought together change researchers and change agents for 12 years. The meeting was made possible by the efforts of a conference planning committee consisting of 10 change agents convened by NSEC (Network of STEM Education Centers) and ASCN (Accelerating Systemic Change Network), supported by 40 reviewers from the systemic change community. Now that the dust has settled, we would like to share some key takeaways, attendee feedback, and future conference plans to continue to build momentum for our community to thrive with change.

Transforming Institutions Takeaways
Rachel Renbarger, Western Michigan University
Last week concluded the 2021 Transforming Institutions Conference that marked the 10th year of convening like-minded change leaders. The event was a rousing success; we had over 250 participants from at least 3 continents with over 40 concurrent presentations, 60+ posters, and 4 workshops containing research-based strategies for improving higher education. What did we learn from such an amazing event?

Instructional quality, student outcomes, and institutional finances
Jessie Brown; Martin Kurzweil
A report from the American Council on Education exploring the question of whether improving instructional quality can increase an institution's revenue. Principal Conclusions (p.22): As the cost of college grows and sources of funding of decline, college and university leaders face mounting pressure to find effective and efficient ways to improve their core business: educating and graduating students. Numerous studies show that research-based pedagogical practices and participation in faculty development can help institutions achieve these goals by increasing student learning, engagement, persistence, and degree completion. There is also evidence that improvements in retention increase revenue and have a positive return on investment. Other interventions—including remedial course redesign, increased course-taking in the first year, and more comprehensive first-year curricular and co-curricular reforms—have been shown to improve cost per degree.

Ranking ROI Of 4,500 US Colleges And Universities
Anthony P. Carnevale; Ban Cheah; Martin Van Der Werf
Principal findings: Community colleges and many certificate programs have the highest ROI in the short term. Colleges that primarily award bachelor's degrees have the highest ROI in the long term. Public colleges have higher ROI than private colleges in the short term. Degrees from private nonprofit colleges generally have a higher ROI in the long term than public universities.

Achieving Systemic Change; a sourcebook for Advancing and Funding STEM Education
Achieving Systemic Change; a sourcebook for Advancing and Funding STEM Education The sourcebook from the AACU 2014 workshop discusses how best to effect systemic change in undergraduate STEM, including the ...

Racial Equity and Justice in Educational Settings
Eboni Zamani-Gallaher
Dr. Eboni M. Zamani-Gallaher interviewed Dr. Dafina-Lazarus Stewart, a professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs at Bowling Green State University, about equity, inclusion, justice, and diversity in academic settings, as well as the role of campus leaders. The summary highlights this interview; the full interview is available as the debut episode of the Democracy's College podcast series.

Improving the Academic Climate of an R1 STEM Department: Quantified Positive Shifts in Perception
This study confirms the positive outcomes of having a practical, sustainable, and data-driven framework for affecting change within a graduate community.

Connecting the Stakeholders: Departments, Policy, and Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education
Naneh Apkarian, Western Michigan University; Dana Kirin, Portland State University; Jessica Gehrtz, Colorado State University; Kristen Vroom, Portland State University
This article reports on major themes that arose from discussions at the Mathematical Association of America's Precalculus to Calculus: Insights and Innovations Conference.

Shaping the Future of Higher Education: Practical, Community-Driven Initiatives to Improve Academic Climate
In this Editorial, we present the history and details of a collaborative effort to improve the academic climate of the Department of Chemistry at University of California, Berkeley.