2020 Southern California PKAL Regional Network Annual Meeting

The mission of the Southern California PKAL (SoCAL PKAL) Regional Network is to transform STEM higher education in Southern California. To achieve this goal, we provide professional development opportunities for our constituents that capitalize on local expertise. Previous regional meetings have focused on evidence-based teaching, assessment, broadening participation, and discipline-based educational research. This year for our 10th anniversary meeting, we focus on cultivating diverse leadership in STEM. We posit that the transformation of STEM education requires diverse leadership; bringing new perspectives to the table. To ensure diverse leadership, we must begin, but not end, in the classroom. We have three goals for attendees of this conference:

1. Take home at least one new skill, activity, or classroom tool to enhance inclusive excellence on their campus;
2. connect with participants from other institutions to problem-solve and promote collaboration; and
3. reflect on policies and processes that help or hinder broader participation in leadership in STEM.

The meeting will be held on Saturday, March 28^th, 2020 at the University of La Verne (located near the Claremont Colleges).

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Mica Estrada received her Ph.D. (1997) in Social Psychology from Harvard University and now is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the Institute for Health and Aging at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Her research program focuses on social influence, including the study of identity, values, forgiveness, well-being, and integrative education. Currently she is engaged in several longitudinal studies, which involve the implementation and assessment of interventions aimed to increase underrepresented minority student persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics careers (funded by NIH, NSF, and HHMI). With the NSF Climate Change Education grant, she directed an interdisciplinary team, to provide learning opportunities to San Diego leaders about the changing climate. She continues to advise on the Climate Stewards project.

Dr. Edwin Barea-Rodriguez has been a University of Texas at San Antonio, College of Sciences faculty member since 1995. Barea-Rodriguez has researched and published in the field of learning and memory. Since 2006, Barea-Rodriguez has led the UTSA Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS), Minority Access to Research Center (MARC) and The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Minority Ph.D. programs. These programs aim to increase the number and support for undergraduate minorities pursuing advanced degrees in biosciences by providing research opportunities, a challenging curriculum and various enrichment activities. In 2012, he was one of 40 educators nationwide selected as a Vision and Change Leadership Fellow for the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE). His focus is on broadening participation in STEM through “Best Practices”, cognitive science, as well as evolution of campus environment.

Registration

Registration is CLOSED. The general registration fee is $55 for full-time faculty and includes lunch; a reduced registration fee for postdocs, and students is $30.The registration deadline is March 25, 2020. Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, this event has been postponed. This event will be rescheduled for the 2020-2021 academic year. Updates will be provided as they become available.

Non-tenure-track STEM faculty and adjunct faculty are encouraged to attend and are eligible to receive a registration fee waiver. Waivers are limited. First-come, first served. The waiver is contingent on participation in a one-hour listening session for non-tenure track STEM faculty attendees and the PKAL executive office. This listening session will serve to inform the future ways in which PKAL is able to ensure that the professional development needs of our non-tenure track colleagues are met.

Schedule

The March 28 meeting at University of La Verne begins with registration, coffee and networking from 8:00 – 8:30 AM. The meeting will begin at 8:30 AM and conclude at 4:30 PM.

Information

For additional information about the 2020 SoCAL PKAL Regional Conference, please contact:

Conference Chair Christine Broussard, PhD University of LaVerne [email protected]