Valdes-Vasquez, R., & Sanford, K. L., & Paige, F., & Rosas, S., & Parker, P. J. (2025, June), Countering Systemic Racism in Infrastructure Education: A Group Concept Mapping Study on Priorities for Educating Future Engineers   Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/56153

\bibitem{asee_peer_56153}
  Valdes-Vasquez, R., \& Sanford, K. L., \& Paige, F., \& Rosas, S., \& Parker, P. J. (2025, June), \emph{Countering Systemic Racism in Infrastructure Education: A Group Concept Mapping Study on Priorities for Educating Future Engineers }
  Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada .
  https://peer.asee.org/56153

Rodolfo Valdes-Vasquez, Kristen L. Sanford P.E., Frederick Paige, Scott Rosas, and Philip J. Parker P.E..  "Countering Systemic Racism in Infrastructure Education: A Group Concept Mapping Study on Priorities for Educating Future Engineers ".  2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada , 2025, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2025.  https://peer.asee.org/56153 Internet.  19 Aug, 2025

\bibitem{asee_peer_56153}
  Rodolfo Valdes-Vasquez, Kristen L. Sanford P.E., Frederick Paige, Scott Rosas, and Philip J. Parker P.E..
  "Countering Systemic Racism in Infrastructure Education: A Group Concept Mapping Study on Priorities for Educating Future Engineers ".
  \emph{2025 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada , 2025, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2025.
  https://peer.asee.org/56153 Internet.  19 Aug, 2025

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_56153
author = "Rodolfo Valdes-Vasquez, Kristen L. Sanford P.E., Frederick Paige, Scott Rosas, and Philip J. Parker P.E."
title = "Countering Systemic Racism in Infrastructure Education: A Group Concept Mapping Study on Priorities for Educating Future Engineers "
booktitle = "2025 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition "
year = "2025"
month = "June"
address = "Montreal, Quebec, Canada "
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/56153}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This paper addresses a crucial need in civil and environmental engineering (CEE) education: integrating diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) principles to counter systemic racism when teaching the infrastructure lifecycle. The research team piloted the Group Concept Mapping (GCM) methodology to identify and prioritize actionable strategies that can guide the education of future engineers in addressing racial inequities in infrastructure projects. The findings from this pilot study demonstrate that GCM is feasible, and valuable results are likely to be obtained from a more extensive study. A total of 15 participants contributed to GCM activities in this pilot study. Forty statements generated by the participants were clustered and rated by the participants to create concept maps to understand the importance, implementation feasibility, and potential effectiveness of the strategies. Key findings indicate strong agreement among participants on the importance and feasibility of specific actions, suggesting a clear alignment between what is needed and what can be practically implemented within the CEE community. The analysis also consistently identified specific actions as highly important, feasible, and transformative. In particular, participants agreed that it is essential to integrate social context into technical assignments, such as using GIS to map census data, and CEE faculty should receive training on facilitating difficult conversations about racism, as this is often outside traditional engineering instruction. Developing and using case studies that highlight successful DEI initiatives, including infrastructure projects that correct past racist designs, can serve as powerful teaching tools. The roadmap developed from this work offers actionable insights for educators and institutions seeking to equip future engineers with the knowledge and skills to address systemic racism in their professional practice. As a pilot study, the process and outputs offered an understanding of the feasibility and effectiveness of the GCM approach for obtaining valid and reliable results from a more extensive study. Furthermore, the research team learned how to facilitate participant engagement better to achieve higher participation levels. Overall, this pilot study demonstrated the value of GCM as a tool for conceptualizing DEIJ integration in CEE education.
AU  - Rodolfo Valdes-Vasquez
AU  - Kristen L. Sanford P.E.
AU  - Frederick Paige
AU  - Scott Rosas
AU  - Philip J. Parker P.E.
CY  - Montreal, Quebec, Canada 
DA  - 2025/06/22
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Countering Systemic Racism in Infrastructure Education: A Group Concept Mapping Study on Priorities for Educating Future Engineers 
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/56153
ER  -