The George Floyd murder in May 2020 heralded a battle cry heard around the world. Academia saw the emergence of grassroots Black in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) organizations whose members convened and communicated their expertise via social media. In June, this grassroots effort was catalyzed by the “BlackInTheIvory” hashtag trending on Twitter, where historically marginalized and minoritized populations in academia shared their experiences with implicit bias, marginalization, pioneerism, the double bind, hypervisibility, and invisibility.
Black engineering faculty responded to the “Black in X” movement by creating an arm of the 400-member Academic and Research Learning (ARL) Network called Black in Engineering (BIE), which focuses explicitly on racial equity and social justice in the STEM academy. By integrating media, policy, and activism, BIE offers a common gathering place for Black engineering faculty across disciplines to communicate and highlight their work, share experiences, and present anti-racism suggestions for engineering leadership, professional societies, and organizations. By amplifying these unique voices, BIE also meets a goal of diversifying the STEM academy by normalizing engineers’ experiences and work. Finally, it provides an avenue to connect with allies, sponsors, and financial support for the movement.
The combination of engineering, computing, and social justice provides an interdisciplinary perspective that is a unique and relevant skill for the engineer of the 21st century. Now is the time when the academy, as well as the world, is seeking comprehensive and transformational change with engineers leading that challenge. Movements like Black Lives Matter have highlighted that structural as well as technical bias are at the heart of many racial justice issues (i.e., policing based upon biased data, infrastructure barriers to resources, water quality in historically minoritized communities, etc.). The future of modern engineering education is directly tied to how well the academy is able to adapt to meet the needs of an increasingly more diverse society.
This lecture will engage presenters in a candid discussion about practical strategies needed to transform engineering for Black faculty and students. Informed by BIE’s Call to Action, which provides anti-racism recommendations system-wide and for graduate students, undergraduate students, faculty, and staff, the panel will present practical, timely strategies to implement and sustain change for diversity, equity, and inclusion in engineering.
Carlotta A. Berry, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. She is one of a team of faculty in ECE, ME and CSSE at Rose-Hulman to create and direct the first multidisciplinary minor in robotics. She is the Co-Director of the NSF S-STEM Rose Building Undergraduate Diversity (ROSEBUD) Program and advisor for the National Society of Black Engineers. Dr. Berry has been selected as one of 30 Women in Robotics You Need to Know About 2020 by robohub.org, Reinvented Magazine Interview of the Year Award on Purpose and Passion, Women and Hi Tech Leading Light Award You Inspire Me and Insight Into Diversity Inspiring Women in STEM. She has a special passion for diversifying the engineering profession by encouraging more women and underrepresented minorities to pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees. She feels that the profession should reflect the world that we live in in order to solve the unique problems that we face.
Monica F. Cox, Ph.D., is Professor of Engineering Education at The Ohio State University and is a 2020 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Fellow. She holds degrees in Mathematics (B.S., Spelman College), Industrial Engineering (M.S., University of Alabama), and Leadership and Policy Studies (Ph.D., Peabody College at Vanderbilt University, 2005). She began her academic career in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University, where she earned a Presidential Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), becoming the first African American woman to earn tenure in Purdue’s College of Engineering. In 2016, she became Professor and Inaugural Chair in the Department of Engineering Education at The Ohio State University. She is the Founder and CEO of STEMinent LLC, which houses educational assessment, professional development, and media offerings. Her research focuses on the use of mixed methodologies to explore questions across the education continuum, particularly why engineering women faculty persist. Dr. Cox has led and collaborated on multidisciplinary projects totaling approximately $16 million and has authored over 130 publications.
Tahira Reid Smith, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University and is a NASA Visiting Scholar for Fall 2020. Her research involves the quantification and integration of human-centered considerations in engineering systems and/or the design process. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Procter & Gamble, Ford, General Motors and other sponsors. Her projects that involved the intersection of diversity and mechanical engineering have been featured in media sources including National Geographic, NBC's Today Show, Essence Magazine, Reuters, National Public Radio and many others. A highly sought out role model for the younger generation, Dr. Reid Smith's story is featured in two children's books and was on the 2017 New York State English and Language Arts Common Core Exam for over 100,000 fourth graders. She is passionate about re-branding Mechanical Engineering to be more inviting to young women, especially those of African descent. Dr. Reid Smith obtained BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Ph.D. in Design Science, where Mechanical Engineering and Psychology were her focus areas, from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.
Christopher Carr, Ed.D., is a leadership and policy wonk in the areas of diversity, higher education, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). In his professional life, Christopher has convened numerous social justice leadership forums in STEM education – bringing together over 100 deans and diversity administrators to talk about marginalized students’ persistence, diverse faculty recruitment, and creating inclusive campus climates. He currently serves as the Chief Diversity Officer for the Volgenau School of Engineering at George Mason University. Previously, he worked with the National Society of Black Engineers, the American Society for Engineering Education, and the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program. As part of his community work, Christopher is the chair-elect for the Minorities in Engineering Division of ASEE. He has previously served as the MIND Program Chair and the Diversity Societies Representative for the Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Christopher has a bachelor’s degree from William Jewell College, a master of public policy degree from Pepperdine University, and a doctorate in education from Creighton University in 2021.