Inside Clemson

Share your knowledge through Tigers ADVANCE Distinguished Speaker Series

The Tigers ADVANCE Distinguished Speaker Series is now accepting applications for Spring 2018. The deadline is Nov. 1, 2017.

Tigers (Transforming the Institution through Gender Equity, Retention and Support) is funded through a $3.4 million National Science Foundation’s ADVANCE grant awarded to Clemson in 2016. The distinguished speaker series offers the opportunity to showcase the breadth and wealth of diversity found among scientists in the STEM fields.

The first speaker in the series, Linda M. Kohn, a professor of biology at the University of Toronto Mississauga, presented “Stability and Evolution at the Fungal Population/Species Interface: What Happens, How and Why” on Oct. 2, 2017.

Two additional speakers are scheduled:

Tuesday, Nov. 14

11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., Watt Family Innovation Center auditorium

Speaker: Karen R. Harris, Mary Emily Warner Professor, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University, “Self-Regulated Strategy Development in Writing: Lessons Learned and Policy Implications from an Evidence-Based Practice”

Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018

3 – 4:15 p.m., Watt Family Innovation Center auditorium

Speaker: Ayanna Howard, Professor, Linda J. and Mark C. Smith Endowed Chair, School of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Georgia Tech

Through this NSF-supported speaker series, applicants are encouraged to invite scientists of renown from their disciplines that will offer perspectives on not only their research but on their career journeys, which can be shared with early career faculty and students in the STEM disciplines. In addition, the Tigers ADVANCE Distinguished Speaker Series supports career development opportunities for Clemson faculty by providing funding support for them to host nationally recognized scholars for a one or two-day visit to Clemson University.

Applications are solicited from tenured or tenure-track faculty in disciplines eligible to receive funding from the NSF. Each applicant should partner with a tenured faculty co-host, who will assist with planning the speaker’s visit. Collaborative proposals among multiple hosts are encouraged.

Applications to invite distinguished speakers with a strong record of scientific achievement and promotion of diversity inclusion in STEM disciplines will be given priority. The purpose of this program is to encourage early career faculty members to make professional connections with recognized leaders in their research area and to build external networks in their research field.

Therefore, a strong case should be made by the applicant for how interactions with the Distinguished Speaker during the Clemson visit will benefit his or her career, as well as benefit other faculty and students in STEM disciplines on campus.

Eligibility and Funding

Each participating faculty member can invite one nationally recognized speaker every four semesters (spring and fall) through the Tigers ADVANCE application process, and will receive up to $1,200 per Distinguished Speaker visit for travel and/or honorarium. Because the program’s priority is networking, the schedule must include time designated for one-on-one interactions with the hosts. We anticipate making four awards for Fall 2017. Applicants are strongly encouraged to request additional funding for invited distinguished speakers from both their department and college to encourage a collaborative effort among faculty in different departments and recognized support of junior faculty career advancement in the hosts’ respective college. It also helps build networks for faculty hosts within their departments and from other departments in their College.

The application form to request travel funding and/or honorarium is available on the Tigers ADVANCE website: https://www.clemson.edu/inclusion/tigers-advance/activities/external-networking.html.

Questions about the Distinguished Speaker Series program can be directed to Tigers ADVANCE Associate Director, Margaret Ptacek, Ph.D. at mptacek@clemson.edu.