Abstract
The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) ADVANCE program has funded over $130 million USD in efforts “to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers, thereby contributing to the development of a more diverse science and engineering workforce” (http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/advance/index.jsp). The PURDUE-ADVANCE project has three major goals: 1) to increase the number and success of STEM women faculty of color; 2) to increase the success and leadership of women faculty in STEM, and 3) to educate all the faculty and in particular, the majority, about the benefits of diversity and inclusion (see http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/advance/). Across this institution, different stakeholders have been involved in an integrated approach to lay out and sustain an infrastructure for institutional change. In our presentation, we discuss our own parts within Purdue’s broad institutional effort. To accomplish our goal of educating the majority (Goal 3), PURDUE-ADVANCE recruited Diversity Catalysts (DCs), three successful, well-respected senior faculty who were educated about diversity and inclusion issues to have an impact on STEM disciplines and the entire campus community. These original three DCs have interacted with others in formal and informal settings to engage in deep cultural change one conversation at a time. We developed (a) our intersectional co-learning engagement (i.e., how and what we, as Diversity Catalysts, learned as we engaged with diversity and inclusion literature and with each other), as well as (b) how we describe their personal experiences as Diversity Catalysts individually. We trace the DCs course over the last few years and describe the next phase of our work, in which we are joined by a second cohort of DCs.
Keywords
ADVANCE, diversity, inclusion, catalysts, intersectionalities
Recommended Citation
Kokini, Klod; Buzzanell, Patrice M.; Chapple, Clint; Hirsch, Andrew; and Howell, Kathleen, "Diversity Catalysts Involvement and Impact" (2014). ADVANCE-Purdue Gender and STEM Research Symposium. 8.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/advancegsr/2013/presentations/8
Diversity Catalysts Involvement and Impact
The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) ADVANCE program has funded over $130 million USD in efforts “to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers, thereby contributing to the development of a more diverse science and engineering workforce” (http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/advance/index.jsp). The PURDUE-ADVANCE project has three major goals: 1) to increase the number and success of STEM women faculty of color; 2) to increase the success and leadership of women faculty in STEM, and 3) to educate all the faculty and in particular, the majority, about the benefits of diversity and inclusion (see http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/advance/). Across this institution, different stakeholders have been involved in an integrated approach to lay out and sustain an infrastructure for institutional change. In our presentation, we discuss our own parts within Purdue’s broad institutional effort. To accomplish our goal of educating the majority (Goal 3), PURDUE-ADVANCE recruited Diversity Catalysts (DCs), three successful, well-respected senior faculty who were educated about diversity and inclusion issues to have an impact on STEM disciplines and the entire campus community. These original three DCs have interacted with others in formal and informal settings to engage in deep cultural change one conversation at a time. We developed (a) our intersectional co-learning engagement (i.e., how and what we, as Diversity Catalysts, learned as we engaged with diversity and inclusion literature and with each other), as well as (b) how we describe their personal experiences as Diversity Catalysts individually. We trace the DCs course over the last few years and describe the next phase of our work, in which we are joined by a second cohort of DCs.