New leadership team members join Advance

Advance at UNM has added three new members to its leadership team.

Melissa Emery Thompson, assistant vice president for research, Hannah Torres, director of the Faculty Research Development Office, and Steven Verney, a professor of psychology, are joining the Advance team in January. 

The changes come as former Advance Co-PI Mary Jo Daniel retired in December, and after Co-PIs Mala Htun and Felipe Gonzales stepped down from the team in 2022 to work on other opportunities at UNM. 

“Mary Jo, Mala, and Felipe made tremendous contributions to ADVANCE initiatives, and I thank them on behalf of the ADVANCE team and the many faculty they helped,” Advance Director Julia Fulghum said.

“We’re thrilled to have Hannah, Melissa, and Steve join the ADVANCE Leadership Team. We know we have a lot of work to do in supporting faculty and academic leaders during the on-going pandemic, and they bring significant expertise and creative ideas.”

The 5-year, $3.3 million grant was funded by the National Science Foundation in 2016 to recruit, retain and promote women and minority STEM faculty at UNM.

Last year, Provost James Holloway agreed to continue the work of this program to support faculty success.

The team has worked to create a more inclusive and supportive institutional climate and increase the participation of women and minority STEM faculty in leadership positions. It also has focused on improving satisfaction with the tenure and promotion process among women and BIPOC STEM faculty, among other things. Read some of the team’s research.

Looking ahead, the team plans to keep providing confidential advice, hosting workshops, and advocating for policy changes that support all faculty while highlighting issues of importance to women STEM faculty.

Some of the team’s new initiatives will include expanded collaboration with the OVPR and Faculty Research Development Office and the WeR1 Investing in Faculty Success initiatives.

See upcoming faculty development workshops.