Minneapolis, MN
August 23, 2022
June 26, 2022
June 29, 2022
7
10.18260/1-2--41780
https://peer.asee.org/41780
408
Faculty and staff can and do influence the climate of a department and achievement of students. Research shows the positive effects of choosing to implement evidence-based teaching practices like active learning and inclusive teaching, and having a growth mindset in relation to the abilities of students. However, research also shows that the local climate in a department could cause students of color to be driven from STEM, or that a chilly climate could have a disproportionate impact on female students. And while the focus of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts tends to be on women and under-represented minorities (URMs, defined as non-white, non-Asian), populations with representation at or above the demographics of the general population face their own challenges. In this paper, we describe recent efforts in the Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM) Department at the University of Pennsylvania to address these issues.
Most of our initial efforts in this area have focused on the undergraduate population as well as their intersection with faculty and staff. We have started exploring the departmental structures and practices and have some initial demographic data on students and faculty. We are interested in exploring how retention, graduation, and achievement in general overlap and intersect with gender, race, and socio-economic status. We have also recently implemented a DEI Scholars program that further engages undergraduate and graduate students in this process. This initial work establishes baseline numbers and describes the first cohort we will track from acceptance through graduation. It is our aim that sharing these early efforts may encourage others to take on similar endeavors, and will also provide a reference point for future work of ours in this area.
Roberts, D., & Carpick, R., & Bargatin, I. (2022, August), Moving Towards Data-Driven Departmental DEI Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41780
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