BOARD # 395: NSF AGEP Catalyst Alliance: Engaging Leaders to Improve Diversity among STEM Faculty
- Conference
- Location
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Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Publication Date
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June 22, 2025
- Start Date
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June 22, 2025
- End Date
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August 15, 2025
- Conference Session
- Tagged Topic
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NSF Grantees Poster Session
- Page Count
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6
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/55769
Paper Authors
Lizandra C Godwin
University of New Mexico
orcid.org/0000-0002-0898-8338
Dr. Lizandra C. Godwin is a faculty member in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Godwin earned her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Florida, and her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Florida A&M University. Her research focuses on materials (ink) development for advanced manufacturing processes, microelectronic devices, and broadening participation in engineering graduate programs through her engineering education research. Prior to academia, Dr. Godwin worked for many Fortune 100 companies, including Intel Corporation.
John K. Wagner University of New Mexico
Dr. John K. Wagner is a Postdoctoral Fellow for the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) joint project between the University of New Mexico, Arizona State University, and the University of Oregon. His research interests focus on improving equity in higher education, and the impacts of technology on public opinion and political psychology. Specifically, Dr. Wagner's research explores how to improve equity and inclusion by measuring latent support for exclusionary practices, and designing interventions targeted at improving gaps in graduate student success and support, and faculty hiring, tenure, and promotion. Additionally, his research attempts to understand the impacts of online platforms and their algorithms on political contention in the United States.
Benjamin Jose Aleman University of Oregon
Elizabeth A Wentz Arizona State University
Dr. Elizabeth A. Wentz is the Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate College and Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University. She earned her PhD in Geography from the Pennsylvania State University and MA and BS from the Ohio State University. Her research focuses on geospatial technologies in urban adaptation to climate change.
Donna M Riley
University of New Mexico
orcid.org/0000-0002-0319-9583
Donna Riley is Jim and Ellen King Dean of Engineering and Computing, and Professor in the Gerald May Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering at the University of New Mexico.
Abstract
The LIDERES project brings together three public R1 universities in the western United States to tackle the underrepresentation of African American, Hispanic American, Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander scholars in STEM graduate programs and faculty positions. The project was funded by NSF’s Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate Catalyst Alliance (AGEP-ACA) program. The project involved a multi-faceted approach: (i) managerial engagement meetings to mobilize STEM leaders, (ii) an innovative factorial experiment to identify local institutional and departmental barriers to equity, (iii) self-assessment reports on graduate student success, and (iv) the development of a set of five-year equity goals at each partner institution.
Key to the project’s approach was the use of managerial engagement, which actively involves institutional leaders in identifying challenges and driving diversity efforts. By engaging STEM leaders through leadership committees and promoting accountability, we made significant progress in fostering institutional buy-in and commitment to equity goals. Complementing this was the "small wins" strategy, which focuses on achieving incremental, tangible changes that build momentum for broader institutional transformation.
We used evidence from the factorial experiment and the self-assessment report informed our managerial engagement meetings, ensuring that leadership discussions and decisions are grounded in evidence and tailored to address specific, local institutional barriers, while allowing leaders at all partner institutions to brainstorm and share knowledge on potential solutions. The factorial experiment utilized institutional data and surveys to identify key barriers hindering the recruitment, retention, and advancement of underrepresented minority faculty in STEM at each institution. The factorial experiment provided a rigorous, data-driven approach to uncovering specific institutional and departmental obstacles. Building on our faculty factorial experiment, we also administered a self-assessment report on graduate student success, which offered insights into the experiences and challenges of URM students across partner institutions. Findings show that lack of appropriate mentoring, mental health, and access to university resources were common challenges to degree completion. These efforts resulted in the writing of a set of attainable goals for institutions to pursue over the next five years based directly on evidence gathered and shared expertise.
Godwin, L. C., & Wagner, J. K., & Aleman, B. J., & Wentz, E. A., & Riley, D. M. (2025, June), BOARD # 395: NSF AGEP Catalyst Alliance: Engaging Leaders to Improve Diversity among STEM Faculty Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/55769
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