SESSIONS
Racial Equity Leadership Academy for STEM department leaders
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KICK-OFF KEYNOTE FOR ACADEMY
November 2021
Dr. Quincy Brown
White House STEM advisor, Dr. Quincy Brown shared her experiences as a faculty member, computer scientist, and STEM education advisor to two Presidential administrations, and what she believes the role of equity to be for STEM faculty. She was joined in conversation by Drs. Brandi Jones and Kendrick Davis
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Fostering and Sustaining Inclusive Classrooms and Labs for Students of Color
December 2021
Dr. Marvin D. Carr
Science classrooms and labs can become unwelcoming environments - not always through blatant acts of discrimination - but often through an overwhelming reliance on dominant group cultures and norms: which are traditionally white and male. Faculty leaders learn to recognize and address explicit acts of discrimination, more subtle forms like microaggressions, and foundational strategies for facilitating and encouraging full participation from ALL student groups.
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Thriving in Science: How Race, Culture, and Language Matter in Providing Access to Science
February 2022
Dr. Bryan A. Brown
The pipeline analogy in science is flawed. It presents an image of single direction to success in scientific fields. The data on matriculation rates in STEM for underrepresented groups paints a picture of a complex matrix of psychological, social, and pedagogical features that promote success and failure in science. Through a review of existing research, Dr. Brown will re-examine the assumptions that leaders make about this matrix. There are several examples of successful STEM communities for those who are traditionally marginalized. These examples share a common reliance on social support, psychological support, and pedagogical preparation. This presentation will explore how each of these critical factors moves us from spectators in the discussion about matriculation rates to leaders who design STEM environments where everyone thrives.
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Inspiring Engineers? Addressing External Threats to Physical and Psychological Safety For Black Students in Higher Education
March 2022
Drs Brandi Jones - Kendrick Davis - Rochelle Williams
The USC Race & Equity center, in partnership with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), is partnering to design and build awareness of and strategies for addressing the physical and psychological threats facing Black engineering and STEM students. You will hear from Black STEM students from Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) attending school under bomb threats and other forms of violence on campus. Finally, 100+ engineering deans and equity advocates will convene to discuss future actions and strategies to mitigate these harms.
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Hiring, Retaining and Supporting Faculty of Color
October 20, 2022 at 1 pm PST
Dr. Shaun Harper
Faculty of color in STEM are often highly sought but often poorly supported. Competitive recruiting packages absent a plan for continued support and targeted faculty development supports, overwhelmingly leads to continued burnout of faculty of color, departmental churn, dissatisfaction and departure from STEM disciplines and workforce, and continued disruptions in the educational pipeline. This session will focus on understanding, resourcing, and implementing key strategies for retaining faculty of color and improving universal supports for all departmental faculty.
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Strategic and Sustainable Approaches to Racial Equity in Departments
November 15, 2022 at 11am PST
Dr. Kendrick Davis
Equity efforts often die due to burnout by the dedicated few, lack of support from departmental leadership, and inability to attract or sustain the financial resources for critical and transformational activities. Early and effective planning for sustainability compels thoughtful consideration of key personnel, departmental policy shifts, and the internal and external resources needed for sustainable racial equity transformation. Faculty leaders will develop strategies and actionable steps for driving long-term transformation that centers racial equity as a key lever.
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Leading Productive Departmental Conversations about Race and Racism
December 6, 2022
Dr. Brandi Jones
Science discussions that involve race are treated as off-limits in engineering and computer science classrooms and departments. No clear or uniform structure exists to prepare faculty for discussions on race and racism, particularly in highly-technical time-intensive fields like science and engineering. Extant research, history and current conditions make clear that STEM education must be inclusive of difficult conversations on race that have material impacts on science education, the workforce, and the national economy. Faculty leaders will learn to develop strategies for having difficult conversations on race, and how they in fact enhance, not distract from, building inclusive departmental cultures for faculty, staff, and students.
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Recognizing and Addressing Implicit Bias Among Engineering Faculty Colleagues
January 2022
Dr. Kendrick B. Davis
Implicit bias is often the invisible machinery that drives faculty hiring and promotion, graduate student selection and financing, undergraduate mentorship, and career development opportunities. Biases themselves are not harmful, and in fact, assist us in navigating our world. When implicit bias in STEM departments can deepen existing inequities in ways that make departmental culture undesirable at best, and harmful at worst. Faculty leaders will review strategies for identifying and addressing bias with a particular focus on navigating peer-to-peer interactions.