Terri D. Wright, Ph.D.
College of Engineering and Applied Science University of Colorado Boulder
College of Engineering and Applied Science University of Colorado Boulder
Registration is not required for the in-person session.
ENgage Series and the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering present
Breaking Barriers: A survey of successful DEI initiatives in engineering
Thursday, October 12 • 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Join us in person at the Lory Student Center, Room 310, or register through Zoom for the virtual session
Dr. Terri Wright, assistant dean for access, inclusion, and student programs and LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate program director will discuss a few DEI-focused programs and practices that have been successful in reducing racial equity gaps on U.S. campuses. She will discuss how these programs increase access and success for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other historically marginalized student populations.
This seminar will examine recruitment and retention strategies that lead to improved graduation rates for historically marginalized students, provide an overview of the benefits of inclusive excellence in higher education, and inspire a call to action for advancing DEI in engineering in the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling eliminating the use of affirmative action in college admissions.
Co-sponsors:
The ENgage series features seminars and workshops to enhance the visibility of diverse scholars, scientists, engineers, and educators working on equity and inclusion.
The series has been created in part to prepare students for engineering and scientific professions where diversity is valued and inclusion is expected. Incidences of racial violence and social injustice across the country – and at CSU – have only heightened this need.
Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to advance their knowledge of diversity, equity, and inclusion and to learn actions they can take to co-create an inclusive and equitable college community.
The series will feature leaders who can speak to issues of systemic racism and social justice, and steps we can take to change this system; educate students, staff, and faculty; and co-create a more inclusive community.
Goals of the ENgage series
Enhance the visibility of diverse scholars, scientists, engineers, and educators working on equity and inclusion.
Promote and advance a culture of inclusiveness within the College.
Develop cultural competency of all students, staff, and faculty.
Previous events
Current CSU login for Microsoft Office and/or CSU eID is required.
Improving Workplace Climate by Preventing and Responding to Harassment
Empowering Individuals to become active bystanders
March 29, 2023
In this interactive session, we will discuss institutional structures that allow for sexual harassment, bullying, and other hostile behaviors to persist and provides training in personal intervention strategies to protect and support targets of harassment.
As a result of this session, participants will be empowered to:
- Identify different ways in which sexual and other types of harassment manifest in workplace/research environments;
- Intervene safely as active bystanders;
- Foster a culture of professionalism.
Special Seminar: A conversation on best practices for incorporating equity, inclusion, and justice in engineering
April 4, 2022
Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion Melissa Burt hosts Karen Butler-Purry, Graduate Dean at Texas A&M, in a conversation about best practices for diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice in an engineering context. Her award-winning work uses lessons from her personal journey to build a graduate culture of inclusive excellence.
Integrating Social Justice and Engineering: The Missing (and Perhaps Most Important) Link to Make Engineering Diverse and Inclusive
March 31, 2022
The Humanitarian Engineering (HE) program at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) has been transforming what it means to be an engineer by, among other things, integrating social justice into the engineering curriculum, including its humanities/social science courses, design projects, and, perhaps more importantly, its engineering science core.
Dr. Lucena will share the CSM experience in rendering social justice visible throughout the engineering curriculum without compromising its integrity, and in doing so making engineering more diverse and inclusive to demographic groups that have been historically under-represented in engineering.
Co-sponsors:
Jennifer Pfeiffer, Global Director of Operations, Industrial Intermediates and Infrastructure, Dow Incorporated
Kendy Hall, Senior Systems Engineer
Raytheon Technologies
LaKendre’a Moore, Director of Quality - Engine Systems
Woodward, Inc.
Drew Crouch, Former Vice President, Ball Aerospace
Director of Strategic Initiatives,
Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering
It’s not only technical skills: How engineers thrive through communication, empathy, and equity
March 4, 2022
Technical skills alone are not sufficient for success in engineering. Strong communication and interpersonal skills, empathy, and the ability to work effectively with individuals from different backgrounds are necessary to generate innovative solutions and to develop as a leader.
Successful engineers will share their experiences and lessons learned about how to thrive personally and professionally as a leader in an engineering organization.
Photos from the event
Liberating Learning: Social Justice in the Engineering Curriculum
September 23, 2021
The most pressing issues engineers face in our time are ones in which questions of social justice are inseparable from technical considerations. What would it mean to integrate social justice content and pedagogies in core engineering courses? What curricular and pedagogical transformations are required? What new ways of knowing and being would we engage? What would we hope for in terms of student learning and practice?
This seminar will explore curricular and pedagogical opportunities to reframe core content, and develop strategies to support faculty and students learning together how to bring social justice into engineering.
Co-sponsors:
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
College faculty, staff, and graduate students are invited to join in a follow-up conversation of Picture a Scientist, the award-winning, hard-hitting documentary focused on sexism in the STEM fields.
Hosted by Melissa Burt, Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, the conversation will take place in Zoom to allow for active engagement of participants.
Melissa Burt
Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering
Rickey Frierson
Director of Diversity and Inclusion Programs for the Warner College of Natural Resources
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Faculty and staff are invited to join in a virtual screening of Picture a Scientist, the award-winning, hard-hitting documentary focused on sexism in the STEM fields on March 9 at 3:15 p.m. via Zoom.
A panel discussion afterward will raise visibility around the critical issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in science and invite viewers into a deeper conversation about how to make science more inclusive.
Faculty/Staff workshop: Co-creating an inclusive WSCOE with Affinity Arts
Friday, January 15, 2021; Virtual presentation
More information about the event and Affinity Arts Consulting
How do we co-create a space where everyone is welcomed, encouraged and thrives? Please join Affinity Arts Consulting for a theatre performance exploring how diversity, equity and inclusion are fostered within the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering.
This workshop will examine the dynamics of hidden biases and provide an opportunity for participants to engage in inclusive practices. This will be an interactive webinar for colleagues to share experiences and learn to grow as a community.
Affinity Arts Consulting (AAC) uses theatre to advocate for social equity and justice, encourage civil discourse and energize the development of community and organizational leadership. In a world that is in constant change, AAC creates healthy pathways to examine, dissect and engage issues that impact community.
REDEFINE Engineering Education: Disrupting Systemic Barriers to Equity and Inclusion
Yvette E. Pearson, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE
December 3, 2020, Virtual presentation
More information about the event and Dr. Pearson
Presented December 3, 2020, Virtual presentation on Zoom
Engineers are charged with devising solutions to a myriad of societal challenges. These challenges are not one-size-fits-all, and neither are their optimal solutions.
To best serve society, we must educate, graduate, and employ engineers from diverse backgrounds and engage them in equitable and inclusive problem solving with, not just for, the communities they serve.
With examples from her research and leadership roles, Dr. Pearson will present strategies for accomplishing this rooted in her call to REDEFINE engineering education: “RE-image who we see as engineers and what we see as engineering; DE-silo education and problem solving; and FINE-tune climate and culture in academia and practice.”
About Dr. Pearson
Dr. Yvette E. Pearson is Associate Dean for Accreditation, Assessment, and Strategic Initiatives in the George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice University and Founder of The Pearson Evaluation and Education Research Group (The PEER Group). Her mission is to inspire, impel, and institutionalize change towards ubiquitous inclusion (UI) so that it becomes a universal standard of practice in engineering education and practice.
A Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), she is recognized globally for 25 years of contributions to engineering education, particularly for her work along the intersections of sustainability, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In 2019, Pearson was appointed inaugural chair of ASCE’s board-level committee, MOSAIC (Members of Society Advancing an Inclusive Culture), which is charged with leading the Society in all matters of DEI for the profession. As past vice chair of ASCE’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion she was part of the team that authored Canon 8, which was adopted in 2017 and introduced DEI into ASCE’s Code of Ethics. She provided specific leadership for the principle that requires engineers to consider the diversity of the communities they serve and to include diverse perspectives in planning and performing their work, which is included in ASCE’s recently revised Code, along with other DEI principles.
As past chair of ASCE’s Formal Engineering Education Committee she led initiatives to infuse engineering curricula with principles of sustainability and to promote strategies toward the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, emphasizing targets aimed at ensuring equity for people in traditionally marginalized populations. Among her numerous awards are ABET’s Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity and Inclusion, ASCE’s Professional Practice Ethics and Leadership Award, and the University of Texas Regents Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Pearson is a registered Professional Engineer in Louisiana, a Commissioner on the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET, and host of Engineering Change Podcast, which has listeners in over 40 countries on six continents.