{"id":22497,"date":"2018-08-09T09:47:23","date_gmt":"2018-08-09T13:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor-draft\/?p=22497"},"modified":"2019-09-24T13:30:34","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T17:30:34","slug":"22497","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/2018\/08\/09\/22497\/","title":{"rendered":"DAC tackling tough issues of diversity, inclusion in STEM fields"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"DAC<\/a>
RI C-AIM Principal Investigator Dr. Geoffrey Bothun (left) listens to DAC members Don Mays, director of Roger Williams University’s Intercultural Center, and Chuck Watson, director of Diversity at URI’s College of Engineering.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEWPORT, R.I.\u2014Narragansett Bay is Rhode Island\u2019s most valuable social and economic resource, but not everyone has an equal chance to study the varied worlds of organisms living above and below its waves.<\/p>\n

With the creation of its \u2018Diversity Action Committee\u2019, RI C-AIM (Rhode Island Consortium for Coastal Ecology Assessment, Innovation and Modeling) is bringing talented professionals from institutions across the state together to provide opportunities for students of underrepresented groups to succeed in STEM fields.<\/p>\n

Funded by a $19 million grant from the National Science Foundation, RI C\u2011AIM is a collaboration of engineers, scientists, and students from eight higher education institutions across the state developing a new research infrastructure to assess, predict and respond to the effects of climate variability on coastal ecosystems. Working together with businesses and area communities, RI C-AIM seeks to position Rhode Island as a \u2018center of excellence\u2019 for researchers on Narragansett Bay and beyond.<\/p>\n

Charles \u201cChuck\u201d Watson, assistant director for Diversity at the University of Rhode Island\u2019s College of Engineering, has gathered a team of diversity leaders at institutions across Rhode Island to develop pathways for students from underrepresented groups to not just be exposed to RI C-AIM research, but use it as a springboard for their careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a committee, our goal is to move opportunity in such a positive direction that it sends a strong message of collaboration and cooperation which no one will ever forget,\u201d Watson asserts.<\/p>\n

At their second meeting earlier this month, DAC members were in full agreement; RI C-AIM must promote the journeys of underrepresented groups, providing examples to incoming students of like professionals succeeding in disciplines such as engineering and marine biology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to look for ways to get students excited about and stay in STEM fields,\u201d emphasizes Don Mays, director of the Intercultural Center at Roger Williams University. \u201cWe want to provide the supports so these students won\u2019t back away from challenges and be excited about opportunities to do research, to see professionals who are doing what they want and are persevering.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents from diverse backgrounds have no clue about the variety of STEM jobs out there,\u201d says Michelle Fontes-Barros, assistant director of Student Diversity Initiatives in URI\u2019s College of the Environment and Life Sciences. \u201cThey see, \u2018be a nurse or a doctor,\u2019 that is all they know. Geology is a great example. There are $80,000-a-year jobs in Arizona. If students knew about them, we could get them into STEM.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to provide the supports so these students won\u2019t back away from challenges and be excited about opportunities to do research, to see professionals who are doing what they want and are persevering.\u201dDon Mays, Roger Williams University<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mays added that a prevalent perception among STEM professionals which must be dispelled is that diversity is associated with diminishing research quality. The solution? Help educators to become supportive mentors who understand the unique challenges underrepresented groups face, but also provide pathways so students can simply conduct research and not have skin color, gender or affiliation distract from the quality of their work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cultural shift is what has gotten us excited about DAC and RI C-AIM,\u201d explains RI C-AIM Principal Investigator Geoffrey Bothun. \u201cHow do we train or faculty and provide the tools needed to be effective mentors to students from underrepresented groups?\u201d<\/p>\n

Training an initial group of willing faculty members as diversity mentors would be a start, DAC members agreed, and Bothun noted that seed funding for such programs is available under the current grant. Other issues persist, however: is the graduate application review process, for example, at Rhode Island institutions clear enough for mentors to recommend strategies for success in students\u2019 high school and undergraduate careers?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a black box,\u201d says Dr. Alycia Mosley-Austin, director of Graduate Recruitment and Diversity Initiatives at URI. \u201cEven if we get students to apply, does the department actually read that application? How are they evaluating it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Watson\u2019s motto for DAC has been to work \u2018smarter not harder,\u2019 stressing that promotion of RI C-AIM-related activities and research will complement members\u2019 commitments to their individual institutions.<\/p>\n

But how will RI C-AIM measure success of DAC-led initiatives? By bringing a cohort of diverse students through undergraduate and graduate studies over the next four years, says Dr. Sami Nassim, assistant vice president for Student Success and director of Multicultural Programs at Salve Regina University.<\/p>\n

\"DAC\"<\/a>
RI C-AIM Co-Principal Investigator Breea Govenar (left) sepaks with DAC members at a recent meeting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cFor many students from underrepresented groups, it is hard to pursue opportunities for research because they have to work and pay for school,\u201d stresses Nassim. \u201cWe can use that cohort, a group of students who have joined and graduated after four years, to show concrete stories of student success  and as a model for the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through RI C-AIM\u2019s collaboration with RI-INBRE (Rhode Island IDEA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence), the annual SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship), a paid, 10-week program training students how to conduct research in the lab and the field, already provides one entryway.<\/p>\n

RI C-AIM\u2019s career development program, which will include diversity-focused workshops and opportunities, is also scheduled to launch in fall 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are federal dollars and C-AIM needs to represent the broadest levels of participation from society,\u201d said Dr. Breea Govenar, co-principal investigator for RI C-AIM and associate professor of Biology at Rhode Island College. \u201cAccomplishing good science includes making efforts throughout our activities for inclusion and diversity, and we want DAC to be an authentic cornerstone of our program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Written by Shaun Kirby, RI C-AIM Communications & Outreach Coordinator<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Narragansett Bay is Rhode Island\u2019s most valuable social and economic resource, but not everyone has an equal chance to study the varied worlds of organisms living above and below its waves. RI C-AIM’s Diversity Action Committee is working towards changing that. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1994,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[906,15,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-salve-news","category-front-page-slider-post","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1994"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22497"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33228,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22497\/revisions\/33228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}