Associate Professor
"Participating in the STEM Racial Equity Institute was a catalyzing moment for my inclusive teaching efforts. The immersive workshop was led by qualified and enthusiastic moderators. The institute’s structure and guidance allowed me to synthesize my passion into actionable items. It equipped me with the vocabulary and knowledge to understand the complex systemic structures that impact and hinder students’ learning. I came out of the institute with a skill set to improve my curriculum, and resources to improve my teaching methods. For example, a critical part of the institute is to develop a plan to implement new inclusive strategies inside and outside the classroom. By the end of the institute, I developed three focus areas for my inclusive teaching – centered around freshman teaching, project-based learning, and community building with peers. The resources offered were through the lens of student growth and learning, which made shaping my ideas into actionable items uncomplicated."
Assistant Professor
"I found the STEM Racial Equity Institute to be a transformative experience as an educator. This program was a supportive space that allowed me to develop a deeper understanding of my own identity and biases. I have adopted a number of inclusive and anti-racist practices and pedagogical changes in my courses as a result. I feel empowered after participating in this professional development opportunity to continue to educate myself and commit to the work of self-examination and anti-racist work!"
Assistant Professor
“I would like to thank the organizers that gave me the opportunity to participate in the racial equity institute during the summer of 2020. Reflecting, this was a period of great uncertainty in the World due to Covid-19. We all needed to go about and live our lives with the compounded fear of being infected from the virus and the media was broadcasting the racial inequities of the disease. Meanwhile George Floyd was killed by the police in Minneapolis during an arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit bill. Nationwide protests due to Floyd’s death had refocused attention on racism and racial inequity. The racial equity institute gave me the scaffold to understand racism and its impact on my profession and my discipline. As a person who was not born and raised in the United States, I was introduced with sadness to concepts such as GI bill, redlining, urban renewal. I reflected on my identity that determines who am I, my beliefs, attitude and composure; and how it influenced the way I view students and their progress in my class. Am I better person? I can assure you that I always question my bias, teaching and testing strategies. Influenced by the class readings, I moved towards creating a sense of community and sharing power in the classroom that hopefully will lead to the ecology for students to thrive! It has been a wonderful learning journey and I would encourage everyone to attend.”