Board 354: Project ELEVATE: Promoting Sustained & Equitable Change Among Black, Latinx, and Indigenous Engineering Faculty
- Conference
- Location
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Portland, Oregon
- Publication Date
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June 23, 2024
- Start Date
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June 23, 2024
- End Date
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July 12, 2024
- Conference Session
- Tagged Topics
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Diversity and NSF Grantees Poster Session
- Page Count
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8
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/46937
Paper Authors
Alaine M Allen Carnegie Mellon University
Dr. Alaine M. Allen is an educator who intentionally works to uplift the voices of and create opportunities for individuals from groups historically marginalized in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) environments. She currently serves as the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in the College of Engineering, where she is committed to helping to build a culture of inclusive excellence that enables the entire community to thrive. She is also a Distinguished Service Professor in CMU Engineering and Public Policy Department.
Dr. Allen has a BS degree in physics education from Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, as well as a MEd degree in policy, planning, and evaluation and an EdD degree in higher education management, both from the University of Pittsburgh.
Darlene Saporu The Johns Hopkins University
Elisa Riedo New York University
Shelley L Anna Carnegie Mellon University
Linda DeAngelo
University of Pittsburgh
orcid.org/0000-0002-8508-5909
Linda DeAngelo is Associate Professor of Higher Education, Center for Urban Education Faculty Fellow, and affiliated faculty in the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. DeAngelo studies social stratification, investigating how social inequities are produced, maintained, and interrupted. Currently her scholarship focuses on access to and engagement in faculty mentorship, the pathway into and through graduate education, and gender and race in engineering.
Andrew Douglas The Johns Hopkins University
Nathalie Florence Felciai New York University
Neetha Khan Carnegie Mellon University
Dr. Neetha Khan is currently Associate Director of Research Development Services in the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. She also serves as the Project Manager of Project ELEVATE. Dr. Khan received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Franklin and Marshall College and a doctorate degree in Materials Science from the University of Delaware.
Jelena Kovacevic New York University
Stacey J Marks The Johns Hopkins University
William Harry Sanders Carnegie Mellon University
Education
Ph.D.; Computer Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, 1988
M.S.E.; Computer, Information and Control Engineering, University of Michigan, 1985
B.S.; Computer Engineering, University of Michigan, 1983
Academic Positions Held
Str
Tuviah E. Schlesinger The Johns Hopkins University
Yao Wang
Nelson O. O. Zounlomè Carnegie Mellon University
Charlie Díaz University of Pittsburgh
Charlie Diaz is a PhD student studying Higher Education at the University of Pittsburgh. He is a recipient of the K. Leroy Irvis Fellowship. His research interests include minoritized student experiences in Higher Ed, student activism, and the development of inclusive policy and practice in Higher Ed.
Abstract
Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University, and New York University created the Project ELEVATE Alliance (AGEP Grant – Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM in the Directorate for STEM Education) to develop a model promoting the equitable advancement of early career tenure-stream engineering African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders (AGEP) faculty. The goal of this AGEP Faculty Career Pathways Alliance Model (FCPAM) grant is to develop, implement, self-study, and institutionalize a career pathway model, that can be adapted for use at similar institutions, for advancing early career engineering faculty from these groups. In this paper we will provide an overview of the project’s successes during its first and second year. this project’s progress which is now in its second year. We will also present our process for engaging with our multi-institutional team and how we are using the results from our self-study team.
The Alliance interventions are focusing on three major pillars of activity, 1) equity-focused institutional change designed to make structural changes that support the advancement of AGEP faculty, 2) identity-affirming mentorship that acknowledges and provides professional support to AGEP faculty holistically, recognizing all parts of their identity and 3) inclusive professional development that equips all engineering faculty and institutional leaders with skills to implement inclusive practices and equips AGEP faculty for career advancement. The main pillars have informed our efforts during the early years of the grant.
Within the Equity-Focused Institutional Change pillar, the team collected 10 years of hiring and promotion data at CMU, NYU, and JHU to determine the hiring rates and promotion rates of AGEP and non-AGEP faculty members. Examining best practices in the faculty hiring practices in each participating engineering school ensures that a broad and deep pool of applicants are identified and equitably assessed. Additionally, this team is developing materials for promotion and tenure (P&T) committees which provide resources that they may use when requesting outside letters of reference in P&T cases. We will self-study policies, processes, and norms to ensure clarity and assess and create guidance for all faculty. Through the Inclusive Professional Development pillar, we developed content and implemented professional development in Inclusive Communication. With the Identity-Affirming Mentorship pillar, our team is developing and implementing a matching process for mentors and mentees. Moreover, this pillar will focus on building community within and across the alliance for AGEP faculty through social and networking events during the semester.
Beyond our pillars, we conducted a SWOT analysis of the ELEVATE Alliance Team as well as mentors and mentees to assess their perceptions of our efforts. When asked if they believed Project ELEVATE is making adequate progress towards its goals and benchmarks, both groups responded positively: Alliance Team (87% agree) and mentors-mentees (88% agree). From the analysis, key strengths identified include recruitment strategy, effective collaboration, and engagement focus. Regarding improvements, respondents suggested increased collaboration, improved support from leadership, expanded participation, enhanced engagement for mentees, and the value of strategic planning for the project's future.
Allen, A. M., & Saporu, D., & Riedo, E., & Anna, S. L., & DeAngelo, L., & Douglas, A., & Felciai, N. F., & Khan, N., & Kovacevic, J., & Marks, S. J., & Sanders, W. H., & Schlesinger, T. E., & Wang, Y., & Zounlomè, N. O. O., & Díaz, C. (2024, June), Board 354: Project ELEVATE: Promoting Sustained & Equitable Change Among Black, Latinx, and Indigenous Engineering Faculty Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/46937
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