Introduction/Background
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Introduction/Background
Date of last assessment: October 2001
The Affirmative Action Office's functional area received an overall good rating in the performance measure area currently agreed upon between SLAC and DOE/OAK in the FY 2000 Annual Appraisal. We had no 'marginal' areas in our last Assessment.
It should be noted that there was a mid-year assessment of current performance measures between SueVon Gee and Margo Triassi on April 10, 2002. As a result of this meeting, it was agreed that some fundamental changes had to take place with regard to the way in which performance measures were defined and applied during the annual self-assessment review.
It was suggested by Ms. Triassi (and agreed to by Ms. Gee) to do a mid-year modification to the FY 2002 Strategic Plan including changes to the performance measures. SLAC formally submitted these agreed upon changes in writing to DOE on May 16, 2002 (Email from S. Gee to M. Triassi dtd. 5/16/02 w/attachment).
As agreed upon between SLAC and DOE via its representatives and in the absence of comments or modifications from DOE subsequent to SLAC’s submission, SLAC put into effect the modified FY Strategic Plan On May 16, 2002.
The FY 2002 Self Assessment Review on EEO, therefore, should be based upon the modified FY 2002 Strategic Plan and revised performance measures contained therein.
Departmental overview
Laboratory Mission
The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) is dedicated to experimental and theoretical research in elementary particle physics and in those fields that make use of its synchrotron radiation facilities, including biology, chemistry, geology, material science and electrical engineering. This includes the development of new techniques in particle acceleration and detection, and of synchrotron radiation sources and associated instrumentation. The center is operated as a national user facility for the Department of Energy by Stanford University.
Organizational Missions
The activities of the Affirmative Action Office include, but are not limited to the administration of the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Affirmative Action (AA) programs within the Laboratory. Specifically, the Affirmative Action Office is responsible for monitoring the consistency between the Laboratory and the University's EEO and AA programs, investigating all allegations of discrimination based on race, gender, disability, religion, national origin, veteran status, and age, monitoring all employment actions affecting protected class members, designing audit and reporting system in areas for which the Office is responsible, and meeting the extensive technical standards outlined by the Department of Labor/OFCCP for an audit.
This report represents the results of the Affirmative Action Office's functional area self-assessment, which was conducted from October 1, 2001 through September 30, 2002, with a two-month period just prior to end of self assessment period for analyzing data, implementing projects, and report writing.
The Affirmative Action Office's functional area self-assessment is based on and measured against performance measures agreed upon between SLAC and DOE/OAK on October 1, 2001 and later modified in May 16, 2002 in order to address progress and contract compliance. The specific performance objective to be measured is the effective maintenance of internal controls used to insure that SLAC's Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Program is in accordance with all federal civil rights statutes and regulations and the successful implementation of the FY 2002 Strategic Plan, as amended.
Identification of Self-Assessment Report Staff
Names, titles, affiliations of participants:
SueVon Gee, Affirmative Action Officer, SLAC; Lily Wong, Assistant EEO Manager; Connie Courtney, Administrative Associate
Discussion of Individual Performance Objectives
Performance Objective: Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action.
Maintain effective internal program controls to ensure SLAC meets its obligations under the Equal Opportunity clause which includes maintaining nondiscriminatory hiring and employment practices and taking affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and employees are treated fairly and in accordance with applicable regulations dealing with race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran status and disability.
Performance Measure:
The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center develops and maintains an Equal Employment Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Program, which is outlined, in the annual Affirmative Action Plan that meets all requirements outlined in the Equal Opportunity clause.
Process used to meet objective/measure:
An Affirmative Action Plan is developed annually describing the EEO and AAO program, its internal controls and systems, and the long-term goals for achieving full utilization of minorities and women in the work force. An assessment of SLAC’s progress in meeting these long-term goals is provided in the annual Affirmative Action Plan.
Additionally, a Strategic Plan is developed annually with DOE’s approval and outlines anticipated and specific affirmative action opportunities for minorities and women, which could reasonably be attained over the course of a twelve-month period. The Strategic Plan is consistent with SLAC’s general diversity efforts and would contribute to SLAC’s efforts to meet its long-range goals in occupational areas where minorities and women are not traditionally found. The Strategic Plan contributes to SLAC’s ability to demonstrate its good faith in taking affirmative action and in achieving diversity in the work force given the opportunities and resources available.
The maintenance of internal controls as described in the Affirmative Action Plan and results from the annual Strategic Plan form the basis for our annual Self Assessment review.
The Self Assessment review will address topics such as:
Documentation: Annual Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) and Strategic Plan (within AAP).
Scope of Review:
Internal program controls for the EEO and AA are excellent with hiring, promotion, separation, and compensation actions being monitored on an ongoing basis (i.e., daily, monthly, and quarterly). For example, the Affirmative Action Office signs off on all job requisitions and reviews and concurs on all job hires prior to an official offer being made. Additionally, the Affirmative Action Officer is a member of the Salary Review Committee where annual salaries are set for exempt and non-exempt staff and where policy and procedures about SLAC's salary program are initiated, reviewed, and implemented. The Affirmative Action Officer reports directly to the Director of the Laboratory and is responsible for the day-to-day activities associated with affirmative action and equal opportunity and has the authority to initiate whatever activities/actions are necessary to resolve issues under the Officer's charge. The level of authority provided to the Affirmative Action Office creates a strong and active control system, which enhances and furthers EEO and AA objectives (See SLAC's AA Plan FY 2002 Plan).
SLAC has developed and is maintaining an Equal Employment and Affirmative Action Program, which is in compliance with the Department of Labor's criteria and meets the Department of Energy's EEO contractual requirements. The annual Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) reflects a continual review of the EEO and AA program for relevancy, current applicability, and assessment of goal attainment.
A Strategic Plan was developed, approved by DOE and incorporated within the annual AAP at the beginning of FY 2002. The Strategic Plan was subsequently revised by mutual agreement between SLAC and DOE on April 10, 2002 and a formal submission was provided to DOE along with a modification to the performance measure rating criteria on May 16, 2002. This revised Strategic Plan and the new performance measure rating was adopted by SLAC and incorporated into its FY 2002 Self Assessment process without comment or modification from DOE.
SLAC has developed a series of control systems which enable SLAC to assess quickly and efficiently its EEO/AA standing at all times and especially during a full scale Department of Labor compliance review. The Department of Labor last reviewed SLAC's EEO/AA program in its entirety during the period April-August 1996. It was determined on December 12, 1996 that SLAC was in full compliance with federal statutes and regulations. The internal program controls which were in place and which successfully passed this audit continue to be in place and is a vital part of the on-going EEO/AA program. No new federal regulations have been introduced since 1996, which would necessitate a change in the control system currently established.
The EEO/AA Program is current and formalized through its annual Affirmative Action Plan, which identifies areas of underutilization and assesses its progress in reaching full utilization of minorities and women in accordance with regulatory guidelines. Contained within this annual plan, with the concurrence of DOE/OAK, is an annual Strategic Plan, which identifies opportunities beneficial to increasing the representation of minorities and women in occupational areas where they are not traditionally found in the work force (e.g., high priority areas). The Strategic Plan for FY 2002 (as modified in May 16, 2002) and the results obtained subsequent to the implementation of this plan are outlined below.
For FY 2002, we set specific goals for the computer science (1 minority) and executive management (2 women) areas. We also committed to identifying and placing more women on our tenure-tracked faculty positions at Stanford University specifically in the scientific arena. We further committed to allocate resources to examine the current recruitment area and the effect commuting has on the retention and recruitment of a diverse workforce (i.e., Commute Study). Lastly, we set a goal to implement a faculty exchange program this past fiscal year to create linkages between our faculty and the Historically Black Colleges and their faculty members in the hopes of having a direct pipeline between Stanford University and these Historically Black Colleges.
These goals were all set in areas where minorities and women have not been traditionally found and where we determined there was a reasonable chance for success given limitations on opportunities and competing resources.
The results of our efforts have been outstanding in that we not only meant all of our goals, but exceeded them as well. The following is a description of the results of efforts against the goals set in FY 2002.
Computer Science
To improve diversity in the Computer Science occupational area, we created an intern position within SLAC’s Computer Services Department. This intern position was jointly supported by the Affirmative Action Office and the Computer Services Department and it was the intent of our Strategic Plan to establish a fixed term internship only.
An African-American undergraduate (Jerrod Williams) from one of the Historically Black Colleges was recruited through our minority recruitment consultant (Alonzo Ashley) and matched up with the host office in the Computer Services Department.
The intern was placed in a fixed-term intern position and his performance was excellent. In fact, he was so successful in meeting the needs of the department that he was offered a regular, permanent position within the Computer Services Department during FY 2002.
Executive Management
SLAC was successful in diversifying its executive staff by recruiting and hiring three women and appointing them to key managerial positions. Two of the women were named Associate Directors and one as a co-department head. Irene Boczek is now head of the Environmental, Safety and Health Division, Dr. Persis Drell is head of the Research Division, and Dr. Britt Hedman co-manages the Experimental Systems Research Department (ESRD). The SLAC Director was instrumental in seeking out and hiring these woman scientists and in doing so has set an impressive tone for gender diversity within the Laboratory. A brief description of each woman follows.
Dr. Persis Drell, Associate Director, Research Division
Responsible for managing the research program at SLAC and guiding the work efforts of close to 300 Managers, Professionals and Scientists, Technicians and Support Staff. Background in atomic, particle and astroparticle physics. Graduated from Wellesley College with a PhD from UC/Berkeley. Postdoctoral student with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Past Deputy Director of Cornell’s Laboratory of Nuclear Studies. Served on Cornell’s Synchrotron Radiation Policy Committee, SLAC Experimental Program Advisory Committee, Scientific Policy Committee, and 2001 DOE HEPAP Sub-panel on Long Range Planning.
Irene Boczek, Associate Director, Environment, Safety & Health Division
Responsible for managing the environmental, safety and health program at SLAC and guiding the work effort of 70 Managers, Professionals and Support Staff. Over 20 years experience as an ES&H professional executive in the international biotechnology and heavy industry environment. Master's degree in Environmental studies and Management from Yale University and the University of New Mexico, respectively. Past Director of ES&H at Genentech, a leading biotechnology company.
Dr. Britt Hedman, Assistant Director, SSRL
Co-manages the Experimental Systems Research Department (ESRD) with Piero Pianetta to provide the required coordination of Structural Molecular Biology and Chemical and Materials Science (CMS) activities. Responsible for managing a significant research program in the Structural Biology and Environmental Research and the Structural Molecular Biology Operations divisions. Graduated with a PhD from Umea University. Dr. Hedman is the recipient of the 2001 Farrel W. Lytle Award.
Faculty
SLAC has diversified its faculty staff by recruiting and hiring 4 females in tenured tracked faculty positions particularly in the high-energy physics or related scientific field. The SLAC Directorate and faculty members have made concerted efforts to identify female candidates and to match them to tenure tracked, faculty positions within Stanford University and to get them assigned to SLAC as collaborators on our cutting edge scientific programs and research projects.
Dr. Persis Drell, Professor
Background in atomic, particle and astroparticle physics, teaching and management. PhD from UC/Berkeley. Postdoctoral student with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Past Deputy Director of Cornell’s Laboratory of Nuclear Studies. Served on Cornell’s Synchrotron Radiation Policy Committee, SLAC Experimental Program Advisory Committee, Scientific Policy Committee, and 2001 DOE HEPAP Sub-panel on Long Range Planning.
Dr. Britt Hedman, Professor
PhD, 1978, Chemistry, Umea University. Received the 2001 Farrel W. Lytle Award for her outstanding contribution to synchrotron radiation research at SSRL. Responsible for managing a significant research program in the Structural Biology and Environmental Research and the Structural Molecular Biology Operations divisions.
Dr. JoAnne Hewett, Associate Professor
Background in theoretical particle physics; phenomenology of electroweak interactions within and beyond the Standard Model, collider signatures and effects in rare processes. Education: B.S., 1982, Physics and Mathematics; PhD, 1988, Iowa State University. Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1988 - 1991. Assistant Physicist, Argonne National Laboratory, 1991 - 1993. Assistant Professor, SLAC, Stanford, 1994 - 2002. Associate Professor, SLAC, Stanford, 2002 - present. Stanford since 1994.
Dr. Eva Silverstein, Associate Professor
Background in string theory: unification of string vacuum and string duality; formulations of string theory backgrounds via quantum field theory and its relation to vacuum stability and supersymmetry breaking; other aspects of gravity and particle physics. Education: A.B., Physics, Harvard University, 1992. PhD., Physics, Princeton University, 1996. Ms. Silverstein was a SLAC Summer Science Program participant in 1989. She was a Postdoctoral Associate, Rutgers University, 1996 - 1997. Assistant Professor, SLAC, Stanford, 1997 - 2001. Associate Professor, SLAC, Stanford, 2001 - present.
Qualitative Study – Commute Study
In order to develop a more comprehensive strategic plan for diversity recruitment and retention, we undertook an extensive commute study for the entire Laboratory to examine commute patterns among employees. The commute study examined the average commute distances by specific populations.
This extensive study provided baseline data to us and will help determine whether work force diversity is affected by commuting and to examine the degree of mitigation possible to encourage retention and to improve diversity. The Commute Study examined the following groups of employees: minorities and non-minorities, men and women, employees 40+ and under 40 years old, employees by seniority, and employees by occupational areas.
Faculty Exchange Program
A faculty exchange program was initiated this year bringing not one, but two physics professors from two of the Historically Black Colleges to work with our faculty members.
One of these professors was Dr. Stephen McGuire from Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dr. McGuire is the Chairman of the Department of Physics at Southern University. Interestingly, he was a participant of SLAC’s Summer Science Student in 1970 and came back as a visiting lecturer for the program on several occasions. Dr. McGuire received his Ph.D. from Cornell University and worked at Cornell University for 14 years as an Associate Professor in Physics. In March 2000, Southern University offered him the position as Chair in the Physics Department. He worked with Dr. Piero Pianetta in the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory this past summer.
The other professor, Dr. Stephen Egarievwe is from Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Alabama A&M University and specializes in Optics and Lasers. Dr. Egarievwe worked with and Dr. Charles Prescott of our staff on a collaborative project with the Enriched Xenon Observatory (EXO) research group focused on the detention of neutrinoless double beta decay and in the determination of the mass of neutrinos. He was able to achieve excellent data upon which he subsequently wrote and presented a paper. Dr Egarievwe states, “the experiments involved in the EXO project provide unique experimental techniques that could be used in training students and also in developing an experimental setup for specific studies in related areas such as nuclear physics, medical physics, laser spectroscopy and material science.” Dr. Egarievwe goes on to describe the “increased research capabilities, the development of a new course, mentorship of students for summer internships at SLAC and continued research collaboration with SLAC.
These were very significant summer placements as most pre-doctorates students in the field of physics are mentored by their professors. Providing these opportunities to professors from Historically Black Colleges enhances networking and provides better access to equipment and technical resources not otherwise available to these colleges. It is the long-term goal of this program to provide these visiting professors an opportunity to establish linkages with Stanford professors who would be willing to take promising doctorate students from some of these Historically Black Colleges in the future.
As demonstrated from these two visiting professors this summer, their experiences have been of mutual benefit to both institutions and most particularly to the students who ultimately will be mentored by these professors.
Performance Rating: Based on the excellent and comprehensive maintenance of the internal controls for assessing the EEO and AA Programs and the outstanding achievements with regard to increasing the representation of minorities and women in the work force and in their involvement in our scientific programs and the comprehensive studies which would provide a better tool for recruiting and retaining minorities and women, we would consider our overall performance rating to be outstanding this year. The following more specifically supports this rating.
This outstanding rating is based on the mutually agreed upon modification in May 16, 2002 between SLAC and DOE and is outlined below.
Performance Gradient as of May 16, 2002
Ratings would be based upon the degree to which goals and plans are achieved during the previous 12-month period. A more detailed description of each of these goals or efforts are outlined below.
Outstanding – Defined as establishment of programs outlined in the Strategic Plan: which would contribute to more diversity within the work force; and/or result in significant advancement in the area of diversity in the general labor market; and/or which result in the placement of minorities or women in occupational areas where underutilization existed; and/or which would meet all or most of the annual goals previously set.
Excellent – Defined as establishment of programs outlined in the Strategic Plan: which would encourage general diversity within the work force; and/or which would result in the placement of minorities or women in occupational areas where underutilization existed; and/or which would meet many of the annual goals previously set.
Good – Defined as establishment of programs outlined in the Strategic Plan: which would encourage general diversity within the work force; and/or which would result in the placement of minorities or women in occupational areas where underutilization exist; and/or which would meet some of the Strategic Plan goals or plans previously set.
Marginal – Defined as the establishment of programs outlined in the Strategic Plan: which would encourage general diversity within the work force and which would meet at least one of the Strategic Plan goals or plans previously set.
Included in the above rating ranking system would be other considerations such as: resource availability (of limitations thereof); effect of turnover on ability to achieve goals; and other achievements significant to diversity.
Finding: The Affirmative Action Office's internal controls were found to be exceedingly effective in monitoring the activities, which made possible the achievement of the goals of the SLAC Equal Employment and Affirmative Action Program. These controls meet all of the federal requirements outlined by the Department of Energy and the Department of Labor relevant to EEO and AA.
Discussions: Activities in the Affirmative Action Office's functional area are controlled on a formal basis rather than on an informal basis. There continues to be a tremendous amount of documentation that comes through the Affirmative Action Office's operation including the management of central data for the Laboratory on AA and EEO reporting requirements (e.g., historical workers file, archive information on EEO-related complaints, etc.). Over the last two decades there have been a number of reviews, including one by an independent consultant, to evaluate the process and to make it more streamlined and efficient. The current process is about as compact as we can make it without jeopardizing essential elements necessary to our review.
Under leadership of the Affirmative Action Officer, a great deal of reliance is placed on the Administrative Service Manager and Administrative Associate to maintain and manage the data within the Affirmative Action Office and to do all the statistical analysis associated with its efforts. The statistical analysis is at the core of determining whether we are making progress towards our availability percentages and if not, what systems in the laboratory are contributing to our failure to achieve success. There is no substitute for the development and management of data, nor for the basic social science research, which is necessary to support conclusions and subsequent recommendations.
As has been the historical case, the degree to which we can make significant progress with regard to the diversity picture depends in large part on the turnover within the laboratory (current low at 5% of the total work force), the opportunities available (which are driven by budgetary considerations), and the educational and labor market trends. The combined efforts of all three of the Affirmative Action staff members are necessary in order to achieve all of the multiple tasks and responsibilities and to meet the demands of the Laboratory population for service and guidance on EEO and AA matters. We have opted for a model that addresses the long-term goals via our Affirmative Action Plan and our short term goals via our Strategic Plan.
As already mentioned, the responsibility for diversity recruitment remains in the Human Resources Department with consultation from the Affirmative Action Office.
Proposed action: The Affirmative Action Office's functional area should continue to monitor the performances of the internal controls and systems and establish strategies for continued improvement with respect to diversity and achieving full utilization.
Problem Analysis
Root-Cause Analysis
In order to make significant progress in the area of affirmative action, there must be a sufficient pool of minorities and women in the labor market from which to hire. It is also essential to note the correlation between the demographics among science major graduates coming out of the educational institutions at all degree levels (e.g., undergraduate, graduate, doctorate and post-doctorate), the relevant labor market figures and unemployment rates to determine the actual availability of minorities and women.
Barrier(s) to Improvement
Our salaries and fringe benefits are not as competitive as private industry when it comes to keeping or attracting minority and female scientists and engineers. Both minority and female scientists are premium assets to any employer and we are at a distinct disadvantage in the competitive market, especially here in the Silicon Valley where technical personnel are at a premium. Surveys conducted by educational institutions have reported that science-oriented graduates and workers are overwhelmingly choosing private industry over educational institutions and public entities making recruitment that much more difficult.
In recent years, the economy in the United States has made workers less mobile and likely to make job changes and this has an effect on our ability to make significant changes within our own demographics in the work force.
There is a continuing decline in minority and female college enrollment generally, and in the sciences specifically, over the last decade; especially in the physical sciences. There has been a distinct “decline” in the number of students pursuing physics generally and at the doctorate level specifically. In a scientific laboratory specializing in high energy physics, this is not good news and will affect our recruitment efforts in the years ahead.
There is no indication, given the cutbacks in minority and female support services and funds, that this trend will be reversed any time soon. As student loans and scholarships decrease, so will the number of minorities and women enrolling in colleges. This will further erode the minority and female college pool and in particular the scientific labor pool. In the field of physics generally, and high energy physics specifically, the picture is even more bleak. A reversal of this trend may be possible if more governmental programs could be initiated at the college enrollment level to encourage minorities and women to pursue advance degrees (e.g., student loans, tax credits, etc.).
While the labor market conditions are bleak, SLAC continues to actively pursue alternative ways in which to make the working environment more attractive to our staff and prospective employees by exploring things like: remote commuting, flexible work schedules, increase educational benefits (e.g., pay for Master's degree), bonus programs, etc.; all of which could make a difference to those we are trying to recruit.
Improvement Action Plan/Goals
Recognized areas of improvement
The Affirmative Action Office's activities have been carried out very formally with tangible performance measurement tools developed by the Department of Energy, Department of Labor, and SLAC's Affirmative Action Office. At a time of diminishing resources, implementing a strategic plan that focuses on specific achievements in specific positions has produced some impressive results (this year included).
This strategy has proven to be more effective than a “broad brush” approach using general recruitment strategies aimed at occupational areas based solely on underutilization percentages. While the long-term goal of full utilization in areas of highest utilization is the context in which the strategic plan operates, the targeting of limited resources for specific recruitment and placement seems to generate more accountability and better results.
Objective/Goals for FY 2003
Our objectives and goals in the coming fiscal year will be to:
The continual maintenance of our control systems and the improvement of our statistical tools and established models for assuring we are meeting our federal regulatory requirements in EEO/AA. Improvements can be made in the management of data so it can be more efficiently stored and retrieved. Statistical tools will be evaluated and modified for changing sociological trends. Do more correlative studies regarding reasons why employees stay or leave SLAC. Explore incentives, which could make a difference in attracting minorities and women to SLAC or initiate policies, which would mitigate conditions which make diversity more difficult (e.g., commute challenges, housing, etc.).
Address and monitor diversity recruitment with the Human Resources Department, especially within the Employment Unit, as opportunities become available.
Implement the annual strategic plan, which will improve diversity in the computer science, engineering and managerial occupational areas. A study on salaries and on turnover rates will also be conducted to determine whether these factors affect protected class members. The FY 2003 Strategic Plan is outlined below and briefly outlines the specific actions and goals.
We will create another fixed term, intern position within SLAC’s Computer Services Department to accommodate a minority undergraduate in the field of computer science. This intern position would be jointly supported by the Affirmative Action Office (AAO) and the SLAC Computer Services (SCS) Department. It is expected that a minority undergraduate from one of the Historically Black Colleges will be recruited through our minority recruitment program and matched up with the host office at Stanford Computer Services. Optimally, a minority undergraduate or graduate level candidate would start as an intern and ultimately secure a permanent placement within SCS.
We have already had some success using this model having hired our first computer science intern, an African-American male, last fiscal year. The intern was successful in distinguishing himself professionally and was subsequently hired by SCS in a permanent, regular position as a computer scientist. We hope to replicate this successful outcome in the very near future.
We will continue to utilize the National Consortium in the Graduate Engineering for Minorities (GEM) program as a primary pipeline for minorities in mechanical and electronic engineering field. Mechanical and electronic engineering graduates that interned at SLAC will be considered for positions in mechanical engineering at SLAC.
In addition to trying to match vacant positions with successfully graduated GEM students, we will also be starting a SLAC-sponsored engineering intern program. This fixed-term intern position is to be jointly funded by the Affirmative Action Office and a technical department and will run for a minimum of one-year with a possible one-year extension.
One of the performance measures for FY 2003 will be the success with which we will be able to place a minority mechanical engineer into the intern position in a technical department.
SLAC will attempt to diversify its middle and senior management staff level by recruiting and hiring 1 woman at the managerial level in this next fiscal year. In FY 2002, we were successful in placing 3 women in executive management positions and have set a goal of recruiting and hiring another woman into a leadership position.
The degree to which we succeed in this effort may be used as one of the performance measures to evaluate our FY 2003 efforts. These hires were the direct result of the SLAC Director’s commitment to bringing in more women at the leadership level within the Laboratory and his exhaustive search for applicants using his personal contacts in the scientific and physics community.
During the summer of 2003, we will be bringing two more physics professors from two of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) under our faculty exchange program. These professors will be working directly with some of SLAC’s faculty to familiarize themselves with some of the collaborative research projects done in the international and national scientific community in physics.
It is the goal of this exchange program to provide our visiting professors with some insight into contemporary research projects at one of the nation’s laboratories so they might impart this knowledge to their students upon their return and to help mentor students particularly in the physics field.
The faculty exchange program, which was initiated this year, has already exceeded our expectations in that we were able to add one additional physics professors (i.e., two minority professors) from two of the HBCU’s to work with our faculty members on a collaborative project at SLAC. The visiting professors were well received and both have been very impressed with our program and have already implemented the benefits of their experiences back at their respective colleges.
It is the goal of this exchange program to provide these visiting professors an opportunity to establish linkages with Stanford professors, who would be willing to take promising doctorate students from some of these HBCUs in the future.
In order to develop a more comprehensive plan for diversity recruitment and retention, we will undertake an extensive salary study for the entire Laboratory to examine salary patterns among employees in general and specifically by selected groups (e.g., protected class members).
The salary study will examine the average salary by specific populations, review the average in-hire rate and average rate of increase per year by the following groups of employees: minorities and non-minorities, men and women, employees 40+ and under 40 years old, employees by seniority, and employees by occupational areas.
Particular emphasis will be placed on the “in-hire” rate to determine whether all employees are given “full measure” based on their education and experience at the point of entry into the SLAC salary program. This information will provide an understanding of our salary system and its effect on groups of people to determine whether employees’ salary experiences are essentially similar and what options we may engage to improve retention and diversity.
In order to address retention, we will undertake an extensive turnover study for the entire Laboratory to examine termination patterns among employees in general and specifically by selected groups (e.g., protected class members). The turnover study will examine the turnover rate for the last three years by the following groups of employees: minorities and non-minorities, men and women, employees 40+ and under 40 years old, employees by seniority, and employees by occupational areas. This information will determine which groups are leaving, at what rate and whether these rates are proportionate to their work force presence and their counterparts.
Performance Rating for FY 2003
By mutual agreement, the Performance Rating for FY 2003 has been modified between SLAC and DOE (SueVon Gee and Clemonce Heard, respectively) on September 27, 2002. The following is a reflection of the performance gradient subsequent to this modification and will be the basis upon which SLAC will be evaluated in the FY 2003 Self Assessment Review.
Performance Gradient:
Outstanding - In addition to criteria for Excellent, there is measurably significant placement of minorities or women in the high priority underutilized occupational areas (as identified in the annual Strategic Plan).
Excellent - In addition to criteria for Good, the majority of Strategic Plan goals have been accomplished; or there is measurable progress in the representation of minorities or women in high priority underutilized occupational areas (as identified in the annual Strategic Plan).
Good - At least 50% of stated Strategic Plan goals are accomplished; or there is measurable progress in the representation of minorities or women through special initiatives/efforts not captured in the Strategic Plan.
Marginal - Some effort is demonstrated; however, results fail to fully meet the Good Gradient criteria.
Unsatisfactory - Demonstrates little or no effort toward achievement of the Performance Measure.
For Questions or comments, Please contact Ziba Mahdavi, Last Updated 10/30/02