Activity of the ASEE Diversity Committee: Engaging a Community in Diversity, Advocacy, and Inclusive Practices

Rebecca A. Bates; Eric Specking; Adrienne Minerick; Stephanie Farrell; Rocio C. Chavela Guerra

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Conference: 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Publication Date: June 23, 2018
Start Date: June 23, 2018
End Date: July 27, 2018
Conference Session: Building and Engaging Communities for Scholarship, Advocacy, and Action for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Tagged Divisions: Minorities in Engineering and International
Tagged Topics: Diversity and ASEE Diversity Committee
Page Count: 14
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--29751
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/29751
Download Count: 423

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Paper Authors

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Rebecca A. Bates Minnesota State University, Mankato

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Rebecca A. Bates received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Washington. She also received the M.T.S. degree from Harvard Divinity School. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Integrated Engineering program at Minnesota State University, Mankato, home of the Iron Range and Twin Cities Engineering programs.

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Eric Specking University of Arkansas orcid.org/0000-0002-0308-0902

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Eric Specking serves as the Director of Undergraduate Recruitment for the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas. He directs the engineering recruitment office, most of the College of Engineering’s K-12 outreach programs, and the college's summer programs. Specking is actively involved in the Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management divisions and is the current Chair of the ASEE Diversity Committee. Specking received a B.S. in Computer Engineering and a M.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Arkansas and is currently working on a PhD in Industrial Engineering at the University of Arkansas.

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Adrienne Minerick Michigan Technological University orcid.org/0000-0002-2382-7831

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Adrienne Minerick is the Associate Dean for Research & Innovation in the College of Engineering and Assistant to the Provost for Faculty Development at Michigan Tech. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame and B.S. from Michigan Tech. Adrienne’s research interests include electrokinetics, predominantly dielectrophoretic characterizations of cells, and the development of biomedical microdevices. She earned a NSF CAREER award and was nominated for Michigan Professor of the Year in 2014. Research within her Medical micro-Device Engineering Research Laboratory (M.D. – ERL) also inspires the development of Desktop Experiment Modules (DEMos) for use in chemical engineering classrooms or as outreach activities in area schools (see www.mderl.org). Adrienne is past Chair of ASEE's Diversity Committee and past PIC I Chair; she has previously served on WIED, ChED, and NEE leadership teams and has contributed to over 40 ASEE conference proceedings articles.

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Stephanie Farrell Rowan University

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Dr. Stephanie Farrell is Professor and Founding Chair of Experiential Engineering Education at Rowan University (USA), Immediate Past Chair of the ASEE Diversity Committee, and will serve ASEE as President in 2017-2018. From 1998-2016, Stephanie was a faculty member in Chemical Engineering at Rowan. Dr. Farrell has contributed to engineering education through her work in experiential learning, focusing on areas of pharmaceutical, biomedical and food engineering. She has been honored by the American Society of Engineering Education with several teaching awards such as the 2004 National Outstanding Teaching Medal and the 2005 Quinn Award for experiential learning. She was also a Fulbright Scholar in Engineering Education at Dublin Institute of Technology (Ireland).

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Rocio C. Chavela Guerra American Society for Engineering Education

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Rocio Chavela is Director of Education and Career Development at the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). She holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Purdue University, a B.S. and a M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Universidad de las Americas, Puebla in Mexico. Rocio’s current efforts focus on engineering faculty and graduate student development, with particular emphasis on the adoption of evidence-based instructional practices.

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Abstract

The ASEE Diversity Committee’s vision is “to create and foster environments where every individual is respected and no one feels marginalized. ASEE believes that this can be achieved by supporting the education, recruitment, retention, and advancement of these groups in engineering education, engineering technology education, and the engineering profession. While ASEE recognizes that steady gains have been made in the number of women, African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans in engineering over the past several years, substantial progress must still be made to reach a state where engineering is fully empowered by all segments of our society, and particularly those who have been historically under-represented.” The history of this committee began as a task force in 2010. Since then, the actions of the committee have included engaging 24 divisions within ASEE and highlighting multiple dimensions of diversity and inclusion at the Annual Conference & Expo. Divisions have been engaged by encouraging division by-law changes to include a diversity statement and division delegate participation in committee meetings and activities. Visibility amongst the ASEE community has been increased through regular newsletters; conference programming and “footsteps” of diversity facts at conference venues; and paper, essay and video competitions. Conference programming has expanded from co-sponsorship and Safe Zone workshops to a formal paper program with special sessions as well as workshops. Membership participation in these activities has also grown since 2010. Challenges within ASEE have included bridging conversations and perspectives between technical-focused divisions and thematic divisions, as well as crafting responses to societal challenges that affect engineering students, faculty, and practitioners. This paper will provide examples and strategies that can be scaled and adapted to address institutional or regional challenges or to increase awareness and engagement in other national societies. Outcomes seen through initiatives have resulted in increased connections of potentially disenfranchised members to the ASEE community, engagement across divisions, and expanded programming in support of diversity and inclusion practices. Resources identified and used by the ASEE Diversity Committee will be provided in the paper.

Citation
Format

Bates, R. A., & Specking, E., & Minerick, A., & Farrell, S., & Chavela Guerra, R. C. (2018, June), Activity of the ASEE Diversity Committee: Engaging a Community in Diversity, Advocacy, and Inclusive Practices Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--29751

TY - CPAPER
AB - The ASEE Diversity Committee’s vision is “to create and foster environments where every individual is respected and no one feels marginalized. ASEE believes that this can be achieved by supporting the education, recruitment, retention, and advancement of these groups in engineering education, engineering technology education, and the engineering profession. While ASEE recognizes that steady gains have been made in the number of women, African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans in engineering over the past several years, substantial progress must still be made to reach a state where engineering is fully empowered by all segments of our society, and particularly those who have been historically under-represented.” The history of this committee began as a task force in 2010. Since then, the actions of the committee have included engaging 24 divisions within ASEE and highlighting multiple dimensions of diversity and inclusion at the Annual Conference &amp; Expo.

Divisions have been engaged by encouraging division by-law changes to include a diversity statement and division delegate participation in committee meetings and activities. Visibility amongst the ASEE community has been increased through regular newsletters; conference programming and “footsteps” of diversity facts at conference venues; and paper, essay and video competitions. Conference programming has expanded from co-sponsorship and Safe Zone workshops to a formal paper program with special sessions as well as workshops. Membership participation in these activities has also grown since 2010. Challenges within ASEE have included bridging conversations and perspectives between technical-focused divisions and thematic divisions, as well as crafting responses to societal challenges that affect engineering students, faculty, and practitioners. This paper will provide examples and strategies that can be scaled and adapted to address institutional or regional challenges or to increase awareness and engagement in other national societies. Outcomes seen through initiatives have resulted in increased connections of potentially disenfranchised members to the ASEE community, engagement across divisions, and expanded programming in support of diversity and inclusion practices. Resources identified and used by the ASEE Diversity Committee will be provided in the paper.

AU - Rebecca A. Bates
AU - Eric Specking
AU - Adrienne Minerick
AU - Stephanie Farrell
AU - Rocio C. Chavela Guerra
CY - Salt Lake City, Utah
DA - 2018/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Activity of the ASEE Diversity Committee: Engaging a Community in Diversity, Advocacy, and Inclusive Practices
UR - https://peer.asee.org/29751
DO - 10.18260/1-2--29751
ER -