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Developing a Meta-Model of Critical Factors for Females in STEM with Application to a Minority-serving Institution

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Conference

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Location

Virtual On line

Publication Date

June 22, 2020

Start Date

June 22, 2020

End Date

June 26, 2021

Conference Session

Women in Engineering Division Technical Session 6

Tagged Division

Women in Engineering

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

16

DOI

10.18260/1-2--34415

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/34415

Download Count

469

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Paper Authors

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Lourdes A. Medina University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez

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Dr. Lourdes A. Medina is an Associate Professor from the Department of Industrial Engineering (IE) at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. Dr. Medina has made great contributions to recruitment of minorities in engineering through her RealTimePC outreach initiative since 2013. Passionate about developing the next generation of engineers, Dr. Medina created the IDDEAS Research Group. Current research activities are mainly focused on Engineering Education from the perspective of outreach to minorities with focus on women recruitment, retention and progression. Other research activities include: systems and product design, decision analysis, manufacturing, process automation and real-time process control. Dr. Medina is currently appointed as President (2019-2021) of the Manufacturing and Design Division for the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE). Dr. Medina has received multiple recognitions for her work that include the IISE M&D Outstanding Service Award (2016), UPRM Recognition on the 4th Research Academy for Faculty & Postdoctoral Fellowships Symposium (2015-2016), CIAPR Emergent Leader (2015) and UPRM Industrial Engineering Outstanding Professor (2014-2015).

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Saylisse Davila University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez

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Saylisse Dávila is a Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez. She holds PhD and MSE degrees in Industrial Engineering from Arizona State University, and a BS in Industrial Engineering from University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez. Her teaching interests include probability, statistics, and machine learning; while, her research interests include method development and data-driven applications in statistical learning. In recent years, her applied work focus has geared towards natural hazards and engineering education.

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Olga Beatriz Rivera Amgen Manufacturing Limited

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Bachelor’s degree from Department of Industrial Engineering at University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. Industrial Engineer in Amgen Manufacturing Limited at Operational Excellence Department.Pursuing a Master degree in Supply Chain & Material Management.

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Nolgie Oquendo-Colon University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus

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Nolgie Oquendo is a Graduate Student (MSE) in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez. He holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. He is seeking to pursue a PhD in Engineering Education. Research interests include Diversity and Inclusion, Design and Evaluation, and Data Analytics. 

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Maria Angelica Velazquez Montana State University

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Dr. Velazquez is a faculty member at the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at Montana State University. She is also faculty support in the Empower program for underrepresented minority students in STEM fields. She has a PhD. in Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Velazquez is interested in research related to recruitment, retention, and success of minority students in STEM, and she is passionate about topics related to increasing the participation of women in Engineering.

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Abstract

Over recent decades, federal and private organizations efforts to fund females-centered projects have paved the way to a vast array of empirical studies aimed at the advancement of females. For the most part, these studies assess the conditions for females in terms of their recruitment, retention, and progression in undergraduate/graduate studies or faculty positions. These studies conclude with the proposition of policies and practices that are intended to help transform institutions favorably for females. However, while large investments are done to change this paradigm, females in this era still face discrimination and are treated unfairly in many different settings. New and innovative methods are needed for transcendental changes; therefore, we take a step back to the identification of critical factors for females in STEM. To propose solutions, we must understand the issues first. This paper presents the creation of a conceptual model as an advocate to complexity thinking in problem solving. The development of the model involved the review of relevant literature from two viewpoints– an undergraduate female/Hispanic student and a tenure-track female/Hispanic professor. From these analyses, two models were generated and, lastly, a meta-model was built merging these models. We propose a hierarchical model in which factors are categorized as personal/individual, institutional, external, and sociocultural. The relevance of these factors to female’s recruitment, retention, and progression is presented along with their positive or negative impact. Finally, a revised meta-model is created from the study of the results of an ADVANCE program carried out at a minority-serving institution.

Medina, L. A., & Davila, S., & Rivera, O. B., & Oquendo-Colon, N., & Velazquez, M. A. (2020, June), Developing a Meta-Model of Critical Factors for Females in STEM with Application to a Minority-serving Institution Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--34415

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