PKAL Regional Network

2021 North Carolina PKAL Regional Network Winter Meeting

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in STEM: Opportunities to Level the Playing Field

February 19, 2021

A Virtual Event hosted by University of North Carolina at Greensboro
404 College Avenue
Greensboro, NC 27412

Project Kaleidoscope and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) are pleased to announce the 2021 meeting of the North Carolina PKAL Regional Network, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in STEM: Opportunities to Level the Playing Field. The virtual meeting will be held on Friday, February 19, 2021.

Event Synopsis

Equity, diversity, and inclusion have become focal points across the educational landscape, ranging from K-12 education to post-secondary education to faculty hiring/development/retention spaces. STEM education is included in this conversation, as many STEM educational programs may not fully attend to equity, diversity, and inclusion principles. The goal of our North Carolina PKAL Regional Network event is to focus on these principles from a faculty-to-student perspective and a faculty-to-faculty perspective. The objective of the morning workshop is to discuss topics relative to motivating underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students to stay in STEM disciplines, whereas the afternoon workshop will focus on the recruitment, development, and retention of a diverse faculty working in STEM education.

Featured Workshops

Motivating factors for underrepresented students to stay in STEM disciplines

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Dr. Henderson is an Instructional Associate Professor at the University of Houston in the Cullen College of Engineering where he is a part of the first-year engineering experience team. He was recently appointed by the Dean of the College as the Director of the Program for Mastery in Engineering Studies (PROMES), a program aimed at increasing engineering student achievement, engagement, and graduation rates. His research interests are in engineering identity formation and persistence among underrepresented students, especially African American males.

Equity, diversity, and inclusion considerations among STEM faculty

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Dr. Boyce is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Research Methodology in the School of Education at UNCG. She is also the Co-Director of the UNCG Office of Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Services (OAERS). Her research focuses on attending to value stances and issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion, access, cultural responsiveness, and social justice within evaluation—especially multi-site, STEM, and contexts with historically marginalized populations. She also examines teaching, mentoring, and learning in evaluation. She has evaluated over 40 programs funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), US Department of Education, National Institutes of Health, and Spencer and Teagle foundations. She is currently the external evaluator for five NSF funded projects and a Co-Principal Investigator on four NSF funded projects. She is a Co-PI on the recently funded 1 million-dollar NSF grant, Spartans ADVANCE: Adaptations of Practices For Faculty Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at The UNCG. She encourages students to develop a strong methodological foundation, conduct studies based on democratic principles, and promote equity, fairness, inclusivity, and diversity.

Event Registration

Click here to register. The general registration fee is $55 per person; graduate student registration is $25. The registration deadline is February 12, 2021. Space is limited.

Non-tenure-track STEM 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. To receive the waiver, register here.

Tentative Agenda

  • 9:30-9:45: Log into Zoom
  • 9:45-10:00: Opening remarks
  • 10:00-12:00: Morning workshop presented by Jerrod Henderson
    • Motivating factors for underrepresented students to stay in STEM disciplines
  • 12:00-1:00: Lunch Break
    • Tenure track faculty and grad students will eat lunch on their own
    • Non-tenure track faculty who received the registration waiver will be asked to stay on logged in and be moved to breakout room while eating their lunch to listen to a presentation from PKAL/AAC&U
  • 1:00-1:30: Everyone reconvenes in the main room, Zoom presentation on the online platform for sharing science projects
  • 1:30-3:30: Afternoon workshop presented by Ayesha Boyce and ADVANCE team
    • Equity, diversity, and inclusion considerations among STEM faculty
  • 3:30-3:45: Bringing it all together and where to go from here
  • 3:45: Conference ends

For additional information about the 2021 North Carolina PKAL Regional Winter Meeting, please contact:

Conference Chairs
Dr. Christopher K. Rhea
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
[email protected]

Mr. Louis F. McIntyre, Sr.
NC PKAL Regional Network Councilor
[email protected]