This qualitative study investigates web pages documenting COVID-19 responses from 28 universities across the United States. Using grounded theory methodology, we inductively developed a model of universities' response to the pandemic. Four types of strategies were identified from the data and a theoretical model was developed describing (a) causal conditions that underlie the strategies for response to the pandemic, (b) the context that influenced the strategies adopted by the universities, (c) intervening conditions due to the pandemic that influenced strategy development, and (d) potential recommendations to make universities’ responses more inclusive. This research has implications for improving the experience of the communities a university serves, including faculty development, especially for newer faculty who are joining the universities remotely and interacting with new colleagues only through the virtual mediums. Finally, this paper will be of use to engineering educators and administrators as they seek to improve inclusion and belonging within faculty at universities.
Dr. Sreyoshi Bhaduri is an Engineering Educator and People Researcher. She currently heads Global People Research and Analytics at McGraw Hill, where she leads research leveraging employee data to generate data-driven insights for decisions impacting organizational Culture and Talent. Her research interests include assessing the impact and effectiveness of inclusion initiatives as well as employing innovative, ethical and inclusive mixed-methods research approaches using AI to uncover insights about the 21st century workforce. Sreyoshi is passionate about improving belonging among women in STEM and Engineering. She was recently elected as Senator at the Society of Women Engineers - a not for profit organization with over 42,000 global members and the world’s largest advocate and catalyst for change for women in engineering and technology. She is also a member of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Learn more about her work and get in touch at www.ThatStatsGirl.com.
Dr. Virgüez is an engineering educator with several years of teaching experience at the first-year level. Her research interests include motivation to succeed in engineering with a focus on first-year students. She has work experience in the telecommunications industry. Dr. Virgüez holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Education and a Masters’ degree in Management Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech and a bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications Engineering from the National Experimental University of the Armed Forces in Venezuela.
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6205-8510
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
[biography]
Dr. Debarati Basu is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Software and Information Systems in the College of Computing and Informatics at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She earned her Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech (VT) in 2018. She received her bachelor's and masters in Computer Science and Engineering. Her research is at the intersection of Engineering Education and Computing Education Research and focuses on Cyberlearning and engagement, Curriculum development, assessment and evaluation, and experiential learning including undergraduate research. She has been teaching in active learning environments, such as project-based learning and flipped classrooms. She aims to bring in engineering education research into practice.
Michelle Soledad is a Lecturer in the Department of Engineering Education at The Ohio State University. She holds degrees in Electrical Engineering (BS, ME) from the Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU) in Davao City, Philippines, and in Engineering Education (PhD) from Virginia Tech. Her research interests include learning experiences in fundamental engineering courses and data-informed reflective practice. Michelle's professional experience includes roles in industry and academia, having worked as a software engineer, project lead and manager before becoming Assistant Professor and Department Chair for Electrical Engineering at the Ateneo de Davao University in the Philippines.
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