Work in Progress:  Who Are Graduate Program Directors and What Are Their Roles in Healing within Graduate Engineering Education?

Mais Kayyali; Derrick James Satterfield; Adam Kirn; Alexandra Coso Strong

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Work-in-Progress Session: Understanding Issues Faced by Graduate Students and Faculty
Tagged Division: Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 39
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--44138
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/44138
Download Count: 166

Paper Authors

biography

Mais Kayyali Florida International University

visit author page

Mais Kayyali is the Associate Director of Academic Support Services in the Office of the Dean at Florida International University’s (FIU) College of Engineering and Computing (CEC). In her current role, she oversees all aspects of Graduate Education and Admissions for the schools and departments under CEC. Her duties vary from admissions, recruitment, marketing, data analysis, graduate funding, etc. She also provides administrative support to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Prior to her current position, she was the Program Coordinator/Coordinator of Administrative Services at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and prior to that the Program Assistant at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at the college. Mais holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Master’s degree in Hospitality Management, and is currently a doctoral student in the Engineering and Computing Education program at FIU. Her research interests are in graduate and postdoctoral education with a focus on mentorship and transitions as well as faculty development and the use of technology in engineering and computing education.

visit author page

biography

Derrick James Satterfield University of Nevada, Reno

visit author page

Derrick Satterfield is a doctoral candidate in Engineering Education at the University of Nevada, Reno. His research focuses on engineering graduate students' experiences and motivation centered on career planning and preparation.

visit author page

biography

Adam Kirn University of Nevada, Reno orcid.org/0000-0001-6344-5072

visit author page

Adam Kirn is an Associate Professor of Engineering Education at University of Nevada, Reno. His research focuses on the interactions between engineering cultures, student motivation, and their learning experiences. His projects involve the study of studen

visit author page

biography

Alexandra Coso Strong Florida International University orcid.org/0000-0003-4988-361X

visit author page

As an assistant professor of engineering education at Florida International University, Dr. Alexandra Coso Strong works and teaches at the intersection of engineering education, faculty development, and complex systems design. Alexandra completed her graduate degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech (PhD) and Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia (UVa).

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

This Work in Progress (WIP) paper proposes a synthesis of available literature to (1) define the roles and responsibilities of Graduate Program Directors (GPD) in engineering education and (2) examine how GPDs are incorporating trauma-informed frameworks of care to promote healing within their academic departments. Whether it is in response to the propagation of the mental health crisis or the widespread inequities and discrimination within engineering graduate programs, the graduate engineering education community needs to take targeted action to create systemic change and healing from standing systemic issues. Within many programs graduate program faculty administrators, also called GPDs, serve as potential change agents at the departmental level and act as liaisons between the academic unit and other parties that are inside and outside of the programs they serve. These individuals are in positions to improve and create new programmatic structures that could address graduate student needs.

While GPDs play an important role in the management of graduate programs, research in graduate engineering education has focused mostly on student experiences, advisors, or departmental policies. With little attention given to GPDs, there is no clear definition of their roles and responsibilities, the necessary support they need, or requested opportunities for professional development to help perform their expected duties. Considering the positions of power GPDs hold, they are central to improving and sustaining graduate students’ mental health, well-being, and healing from systemic inequities by creating environments that prioritize the graduate student as a person.

As such, in this WIP, a scoping literature review was conducted using an adapted version of Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage approach of knowledge synthesis to identify trends and gaps to accomplish the goal of defining GPD roles, responsibilities, and approaches taken to promote healing using trauma-informed frameworks of care. In brief, the five stages were: (1) identifying the research question, (2) identifying relevant studies, (3) study selection, (4) charting the data, and (5) collating, summarizing and reporting the result. By defining GPDs’ roles and responsibilities as well as understanding their position as stakeholders who impact and are impacted by graduate students’ mental health and well-being, we can push for programmatic change and inform the development of methods to train GPDs to implement evidence-based healing practices to support engineering graduate students.

Keywords: Graduate education, Graduate program director, Graduate program director role, Higher education administration, Trauma-informed care

Citation
Format

Kayyali, M., & Satterfield, D. J., & Kirn, A., & Strong, A. C. (2023, June), Work in Progress: Who Are Graduate Program Directors and What Are Their Roles in Healing within Graduate Engineering Education? Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--44138

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This Work in Progress (WIP) paper proposes a synthesis of available literature to (1) define the roles and responsibilities of Graduate Program Directors (GPD) in engineering education and (2) examine how GPDs are incorporating trauma-informed frameworks of care to promote healing within their academic departments. Whether it is in response to the propagation of the mental health crisis or the widespread inequities and discrimination within engineering graduate programs, the graduate engineering education community needs to take targeted action to create systemic change and healing from standing systemic issues. Within many programs graduate program faculty administrators, also called GPDs, serve as potential change agents at the departmental level and act as liaisons between the academic unit and other parties that are inside and outside of the programs they serve. These individuals are in positions to improve and create new programmatic structures that could address graduate student needs.

While GPDs play an important role in the management of graduate programs, research in graduate engineering education has focused mostly on student experiences, advisors, or departmental policies. With little attention given to GPDs, there is no clear definition of their roles and responsibilities, the necessary support they need, or requested opportunities for professional development to help perform their expected duties. Considering the positions of power GPDs hold, they are central to improving and sustaining graduate students’ mental health, well-being, and healing from systemic inequities by creating environments that prioritize the graduate student as a person. 

As such, in this WIP, a scoping literature review was conducted using an adapted version of Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage approach of knowledge synthesis to identify trends and gaps to accomplish the goal of defining GPD roles, responsibilities, and approaches taken to promote healing using trauma-informed frameworks of care. In brief, the five stages were: (1) identifying the research question, (2) identifying relevant studies, (3) study selection, (4) charting the data, and (5) collating, summarizing and reporting the result. By defining GPDs’ roles and responsibilities as well as understanding their position as stakeholders who impact and are impacted by graduate students’ mental health and well-being, we can push for programmatic change and inform the development of methods to train GPDs to implement evidence-based healing practices to support engineering graduate students.

Keywords: Graduate education, Graduate program director, Graduate program director role, Higher education administration, Trauma-informed care

AU  - Mais Kayyali
AU  - Derrick James Satterfield
AU  - Adam Kirn
AU  - Alexandra Coso Strong
CY  - Baltimore , Maryland
DA  - 2023/06/25
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Work in Progress:  Who Are Graduate Program Directors and What Are Their Roles in Healing within Graduate Engineering Education?
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/44138
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--44138
ER  -