The Association of Women in Astronomy Research and Education (AWARE) was created in September 2014. Its goals include:

• Supporting the broader participation of women and other under-represented groups in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields.
• Fostering scientific excellence and a better working environment for all members of the department through mentorship; advice on academic grant/felllowship/job applications; career development; networking; and measures to improve work-family balance.
• Educating all members of our STEM community on explicit and implicit gender bias and foster best practices in the daily work environment and in the admission, hiring, tenure, and promotion process
• Engaging all members of our STEM community in exploring and addressing the issues leading to a continued under-representation of women and other groups across all STEM fields.

AWARE brings together women at different career levels (including UG and graduate students, postdocs, faculty, research scientists, research staff, lecturers, education/outreach staff), as well as men who are supportive of the above goals, to provide a supportive environment and a vertical mentorship system. It organizes both internal events for AWARE members and externally directed events for the whole department or CNS/UT communities