Global competition, changes in manufacturing/automation and desire for more sophisticated technology has increased the demand of graduates in STEM fields. Although the graduation of technically competent individuals with diverse backgrounds can help the US regain its competitive advantage, a large percentage of the population is left untapped. In engineering, women, racial and ethnic minorities, and persons with disabilities are classified as underrepresented minorities. In addition to the disparity in industry, diversity in faculty and academic administration positions lags, which can marginalize or prevent full participation of underrepresented groups graduating in engineering disciplines. This paper will provide a brief overview of our approach and update of a National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored collaborative project to broaden the participation of underrepresented engineering minorities in engineering academia by providing participants with an improved skill set for entry into a faculty position. The project has completed three, two-week summer intensive professional trainings that provided participants with skills for entry into a faculty position and recently started the third year of mentoring.
The first summer intensive professional preparation was held at The University of Akron and had 13 ACADEME (Advancing Career in Academics with Diversity and Mentorship in Engineering) Fellows from The University of Akron, universities in the same geographical region, and from the collaborating institutions. Modifications to the advertising approach were successful; yielding applicants from across the country and increased participation. The second summer professional preparation held at the University of Houston had 27 ACADEME Fellows while the third training held at Mississippi State University had 25 ACADEME Fellows. This paper highlights the assessment results from the three professional trainings, includes details as to which project activities have worked, and first-hand accounts of how the program benefited Fellows securing academic positions.
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This content will become publicly available on July 3, 2024
The Role of Institutional Leaders in Driving Lasting Change in the STEM Ecosystem
Despite the success of exemplary public minority-serving institutions (MSIs) in broadening representation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) over the last 30 years, change at the national level has been disappointing. A recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) consensus study report on advancing antiracism in STEM points to systemic barriers and racial bias as deeply entrenched impediments to bringing talented people from minoritized groups into STEM and enhancing their social mobility. In 2018, to accelerate systemic change, the National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated the Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES) initiative, now named the Eddie Bernice Johnson INCLUDES Initiative. Challenging the United States to look beyond isolated programs to create change on a nationwide scale, this initiative aims to catalyze collaboration and build infrastructure to accelerate STEM participation and professional advancement of historically underrepresented groups such as African Americans, Hispanics, Native Alaskans, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, persons with disabilities, women and girls, and persons from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. While the initiative has offered valuable lessons in this process, it is essential that higher education and industry leaders, government and private funders, and other decisionmakers tackle inefficiencies and take on reforms if INCLUDES is to reach its full potential. This paper examines some of the exemplary practices of MSIs, as well as the theoretical underpinnings of the INCLUDE model, and provides concrete actions to maximize the impact of this initiative and others like it. The paper argues that revisiting theories of change, understanding the way STEM academic ecosystems work, and fully accounting for the role that leadership plays in driving change and accountability are all necessary to transform a system built upon historical inequities.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1649271
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10480175
- Editor(s):
- Margonelli, L.
- Publisher / Repository:
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and Arizona State U.
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Issues in Science and Technology
- Volume:
- 39
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0748-5492
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 73 to 80
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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