Dr. Dana Britton, Professor of Sociology, has been named as Executive Director of the K-State ADVANCE Institutional Transformation project. The appointment was announced by Ruth Dyer, associate provost and principal investigator of the ADVANCE project, which is funded by a $3.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The K-State ADVANCE project is aimed at enhancing the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women faculty members in science and engineering disciplines.

“Dr. Britton's research on gendered organizations and how gender affects work is a perfect fit with the goals of the K-State ADVANCE project and she will be a strong leader in taking the programs to the next level of institutionalization,” said Dyer. “She is familiar with ADVANCE from having served as a member of the steering and executive committees, and we are very pleased that she is willing to take on this leadership role.”

Britton has been a faculty member at K-State since 1995 and was promoted to professor in 2007. She is the author of a 2003 book, At Work in the Iron Cage: The Prison as Gendered Organization , and an edited volume, a forthcoming book, and numerous refereed articles and chapters dealing with gender, work, and organizations. She has served since 2006 as editor-in-chief of the journal Gender & Society , the top ranked social science journal in gender studies. She also serves on a variety of editorial boards and committees in her discipline. Britton is a widely recognized expert on issues of gender and work, and has given invited addresses about her work at many national and international conferences.

“I look forward to building on the very strong foundation that ADVANCE Principal Investigators Beth Montelone and Ruth Dyer have established here at K-State,” said Britton. “Though much has been accomplished already, K-State can move forward as a leader in transforming academic workplaces in ways that promote equality for all members of our faculty.”