Navigating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Engineering Education: A Pedagogical Response to ABET’s Program Criteria
Title: Navigating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Engineering Education: A Pedagogical Response to ABET’s Program Criteria
When: April 19, 2024 2:00 – 3:30 PM (ET)
Panelists: Dr. Jenna P. Carpenter, Dr. Eddy Rojas, Dr. Joel Alejandro (Alex) Mejia, Dr.Olga Pierrakos, Chloe Agg
Description:
This panel will explore the present and future trajectory of integrating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DEISJ) into undergraduate engineering education. Experts, particularly those familiar with ABET accreditation standards, will delve into the importance of integrating DEISJ into the engineering curriculum and the associated political hurdles and potential ramifications of implementing these criteria within their respective institutions. Moreover, the panel will offer valuable insights and practical strategies for effectively infusing DEISJ principles into undergraduate engineering courses, supplemented by real-world examples of successful integration efforts.
We have curated a dynamic group of engineering educators primed to impart their expertise on integrating DEISJ into the engineering curriculum. This distinguished lineup features Dr. Jenna Carpenter, Dr. Eddy Rojas, Dr. Joel Alejandro (Alex) Mejia, and Dr. Olga Pierrakos. Additionally, we are delighted to welcome Chloe Agg, who will share her insights on integrating FemTech into the engineering curriculum in the United Kingdom.
Panelists
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Dr. Jenna P. Carpenter Dr. Jenna P. Carpenter is Founding Dean and Professor of the School of Engineering at Campbell University. She is also Immediate Past President of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), incoming President-Elect of the Mathematical Association of America, and a past president of WEPAN (Women in Engineering ProActive Network). Prior to Campbell, Dr. Carpenter was Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, Director of the Office for Women in Science and Engineering, and Wayne and Juanita Spinks Endowed Professor in the College of Engineering and Science at Louisiana Tech University, where she served on the faculty for 26 years. Dr. Carpenter is a national expert in innovative STEM education, as well as issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM, particularly those impacting the success of women in STEM. She is recipient of the 2023 ABET Claire Felbinger Award for Diversity and Inclusion; a 2023 ASEE Hall of Fame Inductee; co-recipient of the 2022 NAE Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Engineering Technology Education (for her role as a co-founder of the Grand Challenges Scholars Program); recipient of the 2019 ASEE Sharon Keillor Award for Women in Engineering Education; recipient of the 2018 WEPAN Founder’s Award; and a Fellow of ASEE. Dr. Carpenter received her PhD and her MS, both in mathematics, at Louisiana State University where she held an LSU Alumni Federation Fellowship, and her BS in Mathematics from Louisiana Tech University. |
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Dr. Eddy Rojas is the Executive Vice President and Provost at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. He oversees academic affairs, schools and colleges and other academic-related units. As Provost, he plays a critical role in ensuring the success of St. Thomas’ strategic plan to propel the university forward to a new level of academic excellence and impact. His collaborative style is rooted in his dedication to inclusive leadership and diversity. Prior to joining St. Thomas in 2021, Rojas served seven years as dean of the School of Engineering at the University of Dayton where he oversaw undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programs. During his tenure as dean, he raised student retention rates, championed gender equity among faculty, and increased new faculty hires from historically underrepresented groups. Rojas spent four years as director of the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He began his academic career at the University of Buffalo followed by the University of Washington. A native of Costa Rica, he holds a Civil Engineering undergraduate degree from the University of Costa Rica and received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder. A lifelong learner, he also has an M.A. in Economics from the University of Colorado Boulder, an M.Ed. in Higher Education from Penn State and an M.P.S. in the Psychology of Leadership, also from Penn State. |
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Dr. Joel Alejandro (Alex) Mejia is an Associate Professor with joint appointment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering and the Department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies at The University of Texas at San Antonio. His research has contributed to the integration of critical theoretical frameworks in engineering education research to investigate deficit ideologies and their impact on minoritized communities, particularly Mexican Americans and Latinos/as/xs in the Southwest United States. Through his work, he analyzes and describes the assets, tensions, contradictions, and cultural collisions many Latino/a/x students experience in engineering through pláticas and testimonios. He is particularly interested in approaches that contribute to a more expansive understanding of engineering in sociocultural contexts, the impact of critical consciousness in engineering practice, and the development and implementation of culturally responsive pedagogies in engineering education. |
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Dr. Olga Pierrakos (She/Her) is a STEM Education Program Director at the National Science Foundation and a Founding Professor of Wake Forest Engineering. She is the Founding Chair of Wake Forest Engineering (2017-2022), which was recently ranked as the 14th “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs” in the 2023 US News Report (from a group of nearly 275 institutions). Olga is an engineering education researcher, biomedical and mechanical engineer, and a national leader in transforming undergraduate engineering education and higher education. She has served as founding faculty of two brand new engineering programs and served on several national roles, including as Program Director at the National Science Foundation (2015-2017). She has led Wake Forest Engineering with a focus on inclusive excellence, curricular and pedagogical innovation, and creative partnerships across the university, within the region, state, and nationally. Olga is also the principal investigator on a multi-year Kern Family Foundation KEEN award to integrate leadership character and entrepreneurial mindset across the Wake Forest Engineering curriculum, a project that launched in 2019. More |
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Chloe Agg has worked in medical device design, and as a building services engineer designing heating and ventilation for factories, laboratories and schools. Whilst working in the construction industry Chloe also led a graduate training scheme and gave guest lectures, inspiring her move into academia. Now she teaches design, inclusion and professional skills in a mechanical engineering context. Working in academia gives her the opportunity to get involved with a broad range of design projects as well as activities focusing on making engineering more diverse and inclusive. This ranges from animatronic birds to handcycles through to tampon testing machines and has resulted in her leading the UK’s first “EDI in Engineering” module. In her role as Student Experience Champion in the Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London she aims to address the racial awarding gap in the department and to increase numbers of women. |
