PROJECT SUMMARY In response to RFA-RM-21-025 (Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation, FIRST), the University of South Carolina (USC)’ s team has developed the Faculty Initiative for Improved Recruitment, Retention & Experience (FIIRRE) using a systems science informed multi-level approach. FIIRRE aims to: (1) Develop, cultivate, and implement institutional programs and practices that become self-reinforcing in promoting inclusive excellence; (2) Achieve significant and sustainable institutional culture change that supports inclusive excellence; (3) Recruit, nurture, and retain a cohort of ten new tenure-track Assistant Professors who are committed to inclusive excellence; and (4) Collaborate with other FIRST awardees and the FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center in this multi-center initiative. The 10 tenure-track faculty will constitute the FIRST cohort at USC and will be recruited as a cluster hire within the area of health disparities and equity research. The FIIRRE Administrative Core, Faculty Development Core, and the Evaluation Core serve complementary purposes in support of these overarching aims. Initiated by two of USC’s leading health science units, the Arnold School of Public Health and the College of Nursing, FIIRRE serves as an incubator and facilitator of institutional change. FIIRRE leadership is varied in race/ethnicity, academic rank, nationality, and institutional history, with over a decade of experience working together in research and administrative capacities, helping to ensure FIIRRE’s success. Strong existing connections with established diversity initiatives on campus will help complement and bolster FIIRRE goals, as will the unwavering institutional commitment to inclusive excellence by USC’s leadership. Through this supplemental application, funds are requested to support USC’s current and future FIRST Faculty the opportunity to attend the FIRST Annual Grantees Meetings, which is a gathering of FIRST MPIs, program staff, NIH staff, and FIRST Faculty. The goals for FIRST Faculty attendance are to increase collaboration and community among FIRST Faculty, foster an inclusive nationwide network among the faculty and support their professional development. In its original application, USC did not budget for FIRST faculty travel and lodging to the FIRST Annual Grantees Meeting.