English Professor and Chair Amanda Bailey Appointed ARHU ADVANCE Professor

A long-time mentor to women faculty and faculty of color, Bailey plans to build community and initiate conversations for faculty across the College of Arts and Humanities.

By Chloe Kim

English Professor and Chair Amanda Bailey has been named the 2023–25 ADVANCE Professor for the College of Arts and Humanities, a role in which she will create a community for women faculty in the college and facilitate open conversations about supporting the recruitment, retention, advancement and professional growth of women at the university.

The ADVANCE Program, housed within the Office of Faculty Affairs, began in 2010 as a five-year campuswide project funded by the National Science Foundation to promote the retention and advancement of women faculty in science, technology, engineering and math. The objectives soon expanded to improving work environments for all faculty across the university through peer networks, training, advocacy and research. Each college has an appointed ADVANCE Professor—all of whom identify as women—to support the faculty within that unit. Bailey is the fourth English professor to serve as ARHU Advance Professor, taking over from Jessica Enoch, who held the position from 2021–23.

As ARHU ADVANCE professor, Bailey plans to implement community-building efforts such as happy hours, book groups and lunch workshops to help women faculty across the college feel welcomed, supported and celebrated. Conversations will address topics such as life experiences and conditions that affect work, including childcare, eldercare and commuting. She also aims to connect with her fellow chairs in ARHU to acknowledge ongoing changes in the arts and humanities disciplines, revise the Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Guidelines and discuss efforts around mentoring and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.

“It’s about creating environments within and across departments where faculty can share with one another the kinds of pressures they’re managing and develop ways of talking about these things openly,” Bailey said.

Bailey’s agenda for her tenure as ADVANCE Professor is an extension of her work for the past seven years as chair of the Department of English. She has long mentored junior and mid-career faculty, especially women and people of color, in navigating situations such as workload, promotions, salary and department politics. Recently, she led the department through the process of creating a comprehensive instructional workload policy designed to help accommodate and support the needs of women faculty and faculty of color.

“I’m honored to be chosen, and pleased to be able to do this in a more official capacity, not just for folks in English, but for all across the college,” Bailey said.