Tacoma, Wash. – University of Puget Sound Provost Laura Behling, Ph.D., has been appointed to the inter-institutional peer-mentoring network for the ASCEND Project, a $1 million grant-funded National Science Foundation (NSF) initiative to support the advancement of mid-career STEM women faculty members across colleges and universities.

The Advancing STEM Careers by Empowering Network Development (ASCEND) collaboration involves six partner institutions and 60 participants from primarily undergraduate colleges and universities across the Northwest, the Midwest, and the Southeast. The initiative is designed to increase the advancement of mid-career women in STEM fields through peer-to-peer professional networks; to create change agents to equip women faculty members for promotion and leadership roles, and to drive institutional transformation by removing obstacles to increase retention and advancement of a diverse STEM faculty.

This work will build on Puget Sound’s strong commitment to women in STEM, including the recently announced prestigious Clare Boothe Luce Program to support research awards for women majoring in the STEM fields.