This session will help members of the engineering education community better understand how to support engineering students to navigate and survive moments of mental health crisis.

Belonging and being valued are fundamental human needs. Inclusive leadership helps address these two crucial needs and enhances performance, collaboration, attendance, and reduces turnover. This life skill is helpful for everyone, yet it is imperative to create cultures, schools, teams, and organizations that drive equitable outcomes for historically marginalized and minoritized people.

Many women in science, math, engineering and mathematics (STEM) continue to be dissuaded from pursuing lofty career goals when they encounter gender bias, discrimination, and inequity, reporting that they find it challenging to navigate these adverse situations to persist in their careers. The NSF-funded NAVIGATE Project provides free case-study-based trainings for women graduate students or recent graduates to support working strategically and efficiently to navigate past such issues.

Engineering educators should consider how cultural identity mediates the formation of engineering identity. This workshop helps engineering educators examine their instructional practices and how their teaching is informed by their cultural identity. This self-reflection will help instructors better utilize the cultural capital students possess to enhance engineering learning and identity.

The Black In Engineering (BIE) social justice movement was created in response to the numerous injustices that have taken place in our nation against Black people, and to address racial equity and social justice in the STEM academy. It was inspired by a desire for change after the George Floyd killing and the hashtag BlackInTheIvory went viral on Twitter. By scrolling through the posts, it became quickly apparent that although Black academics were sharing their experiences with microaggressions, unconscious bias and invisible labor, engineering faculty were relatively silent.

The purpose of our virtual workshop/webinar is to engage members of the engineering community in conversations about the BIE social justice movement, Call to Action (Recommendations for Institutions to become Anti-Racist), and ways that the call may become actionable and sustainable.

As African American women are less commonly seen in engineering fields, faculty members, students, and society members may create misaligned associations about their abilities to complete their roles. Many African American women faculty working in Primarily White Institutions (PWI) utilize coping mechanisms such as culture conformity, scholastic maskings, and code-switching to mask the effect of racial and gender microaggressions (Apugo, 2019).

In this workshop, we learn about microaggressions, the subtle and sometimes intentional, physical, verbal, or nullify acts against individuals of marginalized groups. Participants read a short article, engage in team discussions, and work through scenarios to understand microaggressions and how to ensure microaggressions are not promoted in the workplace.

Combining Scientific Principles with Indigenous perspectives of
interconnectedness and respect for Mother Earth. A collaborative conversation on equity and inclusion amid COVID19 that aimed to identify lessons learned so we can begin to learn how to mitigate issues concerning equity and inclusion as a community. More importantly, discuss and equip everyone with best practices to execute an equitable and inclusive distance learning experience for all!