The FORWARD project will begin its fourth year of programming with a kick-off event on Thursday, Sept. 1, at 2 p.m. at President Dean L. Bresciani’s house. The kick-off event will include the presentation of this year’s Advance FORWARD Award (formerly the Gender Equity Award) to the Department of Veterinary and Microbiological Sciences. The Advance FORWARD Award is given annually by the Commission on the Status of Women Faculty to an academic department whose record reflects outstanding effort to support and advance gender equity in one or more of the five areas/goals established in the National Science Foundation Advance Grant.

Registration for this kick-off event is requested and may be completed at www.ndsu.edu/forward. Additional FORWARD events in September include sponsoring a Women in Research networking event on Monday, Sept. 12, a visit by the project’s five-member external advisory board on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 15-16, and the first promotion to professor panel discussion and luncheon on Tuesday, Sept. 20, featuring five University Distinguished Professors.

October’s events include an information session on the various FORWARD funding initiatives such as course releases and travel mentoring grants, as well as others to be held on Oct. 5. The project will host a third-year site review on Oct. 18-19 (rescheduled after earlier cancellation due to a winter storm). Search committee member training is planned for October (specific dates to be announced). The FORWARD Advocates group also will offer Ally training during the fall semester.

Details about dates, times and registration for these events in September and October, as well as other FORWARD events throughout the year, will be announced in future issues of It’s Happening at State and on the FORWARD website.