Fulghum prepares for her next role after UNM — and passing the ADVANCE torch

Julia Fulghum has held a variety of positions at The University of New Mexico during her over 20-year tenure here. A professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, she has been a faculty member in two separate colleges. She served as an associate dean, a department chair and a vice president. But it was a 2016 grant that provided Fulghum with her most notable UNM impact: founder and director of ADVANCE at UNM.

And come June 30, she will add another role to the list: retired.

"It's a good time to step away," she said. "We have a terrific team, and after a decade, it's the right time for a new director."

That new director will be Lisa Broidy, a distinguished professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology (and its current department chair), who will assume the role July 1.

What started as a five-year grant funded by the National Science Foundation called "ADVANCE: Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers" endured shifts in UNM leadership, a global pandemic, and a changing federal funding landscape. In the last decade, ADVANCE has not only survived, but has thrived. And for the last four years, it has been woven into the faculty support ecosystem as part of the Office of Academic Affairs starting in 2022.

Although Fulghum spent a career as an academic in a scientific field, she said the role that fit her best was building, shaping and guiding ADVANCE over the last decade.

"Without a doubt, my proudest accomplishment has been ADVANCE," Fulghum said. "We've moved the needle in a lot of ways."

Barbara Rodríguez, interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, said Fulghum and ADVANCE have made a significant difference on the UNM campus.

"Julia Fulghum has given extraordinary service to The University of New Mexico," Rodríguez said. "Her leadership of ADVANCE has helped build a stronger and more supportive faculty community, and her commitment to institutional transformation has touched the careers of many colleagues across campus. UNM is better because of her work."

ADVANCE programs, which were implemented at many universities across the country, had the original goal of increasing the representation and advancement of women faculty in academic science and engineering careers, but over the years, ADVANCE at UNM - physically based in a sunlit corner of the Communication and Journalism Building that faces Central Avenue - has grown to offer a fully integrated support system for faculty.

Supports include conducting campus climate and touchpoint surveys with faculty that have led to a more welcoming campus and have informed leadership on the types of support and services to offer; confidential advice on policies, processes and career development; a wide range of workshops on every aspect of the promotion and tenure process; research information and support; writing workshops; support for faculty searches; holistic health and even humor that is featured in ADVANCE's regular newsletter to faculty. All these services are designed to support faculty wherever they are in life personally or professionally while creating a sense of community to remind faculty that they are not alone.

"Before ADVANCE, there wasn't an official faculty support system at UNM," Fulghum said. "Now, most schools and colleges have associate deans for faculty. With ADVANCE, we helped to establish that expectation."

That work of building ADVANCE has included more than Fulghum and the ADVANCE Leadership Team. It's meant working alongside the Office of Academic Affairs, attending many meetings with department chairs, faculty, staff, studying academic literature, and talking with colleagues across the country with similar programs to understand what works and what doesn't work.

"Before ADVANCE, there wasn't an official faculty support system at UNM. Now, most schools and colleges have associate deans for faculty. With ADVANCE, we helped to establish that expectation."

- Julia Fulghum, founder and director of ADVANCE at UNM

Fulghum admits there have certainly been challenges along the way - navigating as a woman in a STEM discipline, a woman in senior administrative roles, and leading an initiative to change the campus culture to one that is welcoming to all members and provides support and resources along a faculty member's journey. Despite resistance from campus members who had different priorities, Fulghum said she persisted because the hard work has a rewarding payoff.

"I wanted faculty to have a different experience than I had. And it's really what I enjoy most - helping faculty succeed," she said. "It's those little successes we get to see of positively and constructively impacting careers."

As a chemist in academia, directing ADVANCE wasn't even on her radar when she made the cross-country move to New Mexico.

Fulghum, along with her husband, Stephen Cabaniss, a professor in the same department and co-founder of the Research Opportunities for Science Educators (ROSE) Program, made the move to UNM in 2002. Both were professors at Kent State in Ohio for 13 years. Then it was a chance encounter at a professional conference she attended that led the couple to uproot and move across the country.

"Someone at an international conference planning meeting I was attending suggested that I apply for the chair position in the Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering at UNM," she said.

Fulghum and her husband were familiar with New Mexico, traveling here frequently to escape the gray skies of the Midwest. So the prospect of living where there are 310 days of sunshine a year, along with an incredible professional opportunity, helped to make the choice a fairly easy one.

"A lot of things felt right, including wanting to be at a larger institution," she said.

Cabaniss found a faculty home in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, as Fulghum served in her initial leadership role at UNM, a role she stayed in for six years.

Thanks to changes in University administration and structure, the opportunity then presented itself to take on a larger role - that of vice president for research. That role is responsible for overseeing and guiding strategy for the UNM research enterprise on central campus, as well as coordinating with the Health Sciences Center research system.

Fulghum eventually transferred her faculty home to Chemistry and Chemical Biology (a move from the School of Engineering to the College of Arts and Sciences), but remained in leadership positions her entire time at UNM.

Her experiences - both positive and challenging - of serving in various leadership roles provided her with invaluable knowledge and experience in how to navigate the UNM system. It was that knowledge that helped her guide and build ADVANCE to what it is today, she said.

"I like building things, and I've always enjoyed helping people," she said. "I love being able to support faculty in all aspects of their roles. Importantly, faculty are better able to help students succeed when they feel supported in their scholarship, teaching and mentoring."

She is proud of the team and community that ADVANCE has built and is confident in the leadership that will be coming in this summer with Lisa Broidy.

"Seeing faculty who began as assistant professors and now are taking on leadership roles themselves is incredibly gratifying."

- Julia Fulghum, founder and director of ADVANCE at UNM

Along with having a strong team at ADVANCE, Fulghum gives a lot of credit to UNM faculty for the success of ADVANCE.

"UNM faculty are committed to not only their own work but also to their students, teaching and working with their colleagues," she said. "ADVANCE's success is a testament to the strength of our faculty."

She's pleased with the faculty support infrastructure that ADVANCE has built, as well as the professional collaborations and the personal friendships the role has allowed her to make. She also has enjoyed watching faculty "grow up" in the ADVANCE ecosystem.

"Seeing faculty who began as assistant professors and now are taking on leadership roles themselves is incredibly gratifying," Fulghum said.

Although she is looking forward to pursuing a plethora of hobbies in retirement that include everything from photography to baking, she will still be observing ADVANCE and its initiatives from afar and guiding the transition as needed.

"I have made such great friends and colleagues through ADVANCE, and I will miss those daily interactions the most," Fulghum said.

She will be working part-time to support the new director and will continue supporting friends and colleagues. She is also looking forward to seeing the future evolution of ADVANCE as it heads into its second decade.

"In five or 10 years, my hope is that we will see some new approaches and resources that we haven't even thought about yet, while maintaining our goals."

An event to commemorate the 10th anniversary of ADVANCE will be held this spring.