Douglass Hosts the First Meeting of The Big Ten Academic Alliance Summit Series on Advancing Women in STEM
At the inaugural meeting of The Big Ten Academic Alliance Summit Series on Advancing Women in STEM, a recurring goal guided each lecture, workshop, and panel discussion: changing institutional practices so that they result in retaining women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Douglass’s long history of advancing women in STEM was the impetus behind the new national-level project to gather our Big Ten university counterparts in a multi-year initiative for collaboration, problem-solving, and new solutions to broaden the pathways for women students in STEM.
From June 6-8, 9 Big Ten University leaders convened at the College, sharing their stories of success and examining the persistent underrepresentation of women in many STEM fields. The universities that attended were Michigan State University, University of Michigan, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Pennsylvania State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ohio State University, University of Maryland, University of Minnesota, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The group was welcomed by Chancellor Molloy of Rutgers-New Brunswick, Keith Marshall, Executive Director of the Big Ten Academic Alliance, and Dean Jacquelyn Litt of Douglass Residential College. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the National Science Foundation, Bristol Myers-Squibb, and Rutgers University sponsored the summit.
“At the summit this week, we put our minds toward examining our cultures and structures and developing new programs that both support our students and move the needle toward institutional change,” said Dean Litt in her opening remarks.
Over the course of the event, summit attendees were invited to listen to leaders in the field who specialize in just that—creating institutional change. During the morning session on the first day, Dr. Kelly Mack, the Vice President for Undergraduate STEM Education and Executive Director of Project Kaleidoscope at the Association of American Colleges and Universities, and Dr. Talitha Washington, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Howard University, discussed their observations, research, and strategies to consider when creating university programs. Based in the latest research and with a special focus on recruitment and retention of women of color, the panel focused on the importance of identifying the double bind of race and gender for women of color. Guided by Dr. Mack and Dr. Washington’s opening discussion, the summit proceeded with the sense of intentionality necessary to make active improvements at universities. Linda Suskie, a national expert on assessment, guided the group in best practices in goal setting and program evaluation, emphasizing the importance of establishing good metrics to assess the efficacy of programs.
As the Senior Vice President of Organizational Culture, Inclusion, and Equity at Simmons University and as a Douglass College alumna, Dr. Debra Joy Pérez DC’84, offered valuable insights in her talk “Equity and Inclusive Excellence in Times of Fragility.” Dr. Pérez spoke about how conversations on diversity, equity, and inclusion are stifled by misconceptions about meritocracy and mainstream culture. Another presentation, moderated by the Rutgers University Vice President for Academic Affairs and Administration and Douglass College alumna, Dr. Karen Stubaus DC’72, discussed The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Consensus Study Report: Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2018). Professor of Psychological Sciences at the University of Connecticut and co-author of the report, Dr. Vicki Magley presented the report’s findings and spoke of the alarming rates of sexual and gender harassment in STEM academic circles.
Citing “the natural community of the Big Ten,” Dean Litt declared that part of the mission of the Alliance is “to increase synergy among university-level programs within and across the Alliance member schools with the aim of broadening participation,” and “to disseminate findings across the nation to colleges and universities with similar goals.”
In addition to the scheduled presentations, attendees participated in working groups that put inter-university collaboration at the forefront of progress. These sessions fostered a think - tank to tackle how to best turn educational theory into practice. The working groups formulated strategies that will both produce and maintain more inclusive learning environments. At the end of the summit, the groups presented their findings to the rest of the attendees. These hands-on collaborative experiences, and the sharing of knowledge they promote, exemplify the power of women and their allies coming together to find and execute lasting solutions.
During the summit, STEM students from both Douglass and The University of Wisconsin-Madison were featured in a session devoted to celebrating student achievement. The opportunity to engage with issues that affect women in STEM through a variety of social and cultural lenses, particularly from the perspectives of women of color, provided students with both professional and personal growth. Experiences such as the summit strengthen the Douglass community’s social consciousness and reinforce its commitment to overcoming challenges to diversity.
Keeping with the event’s emphasis on collaboration, the summit concluded with a forward-thinking discussion of the initiative’s next steps. By setting clear goals and benchmarks for organizational progress and diversity, representatives from each university reinforced their institutions’ commitments to finding and implementing practical program-based methods to empower women scientists, technology professionals, mathematicians, and engineers.
The undergraduate summit will be followed by two additional summits at Rutgers: one on graduate student/post-doctoral fellows and the other on advancing women faculty.
To view the NJTV coverage of the event, please click here.
To view photos from the event, please click here.
