2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Work in Progress: Measuring Authentic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts in a Multiscale Sustainable-Food System Research Network

Presented at Self-Advocacy, Sense of Belonging, Measuring Authentic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Construction Management Education Programs

In 2021, the National Science Foundation funded (Name of Center) to bring together over 40 researchers and 15 institutions in the advancement of science to make the wasteful food system in the United States sustainable, equitable, and resilient. The (Name of Center)’s mission is to carry out convergent research to understand how and why food is wasted in regions across the U.S. and then to create solutions that can minimize and sustainably manage waste. With a focus on the integration of currently disconnected partners (i.e., academics, students, workers, farmers, non-profits, community members, firms, and regulators), over ten research clusters work together to advance the center’s mission via convergent research and systems change.

This paper highlights the efforts of the (Name of Center)’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) cluster, whose mission is to study the extent to which the structure and procedures undertaken within the network effectively promote DEI. As the DEI cluster, we will derive insights that can guide best practices for similar research networks and collaboratives. To achieve these goals, we translated network co-created DEI cluster goals and objectives into metrics, stakeholders, evidence, and operationalization. To ensure that metrics were achievable, we applied the RE-AIM planning and evaluation framework as a guiding implementation framework.

We present initial findings about the presence of DEI across clusters from analyses of artifacts (e.g., meeting minutes, center presentations) in the network. Our work will offer researchers and practitioners approaches to evaluate a multi-institutional research network’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, serving as a guide for future research network initiatives.

Authors

Winifred Opoku The Ohio State University [biography]

Winifred Opoku is a doctoral student in the Department of Engineering Education, College of Engineering (CoE). She worked in the energy industry as a mechanical design engineer and a corporate trainer before returning to the Academy pursue her PhD. She has a wealth of teaching and training experience in various settings: first-year engineering classrooms, academic mentorship programs, K-12 events, nonprofits, and in corporate spaces.

As a rising engineering education scholar, she aims to use her research to provide tools to design more inclusive and supportive learning spaces for students from diverse backgrounds.
Jameka Wiggins The Ohio State University [biography]

Jameka Wiggins is a Ph.D. Candidate in Engineering Education, specializing in Organizational Change in Higher Education and Industry at The Ohio State University. Concurrently, she is pursuing a Master’s in Engineering Management. Jameka's current research explores how engineering faculties’ positionality and lived experiences shape their critical consciousness development. As a scholar and advocate, she seeks to amplify the voices of underrepresented groups in engineering by exploring their experiences, engaging in critical questioning, and offering support. Outside of academic studies, Jameka serves as an ambassador for her department, reviewer for ASEE, and active volunteer for a Columbus STEM non-profit See Brilliance. Jameka has been recognized by her undergraduate institution for her commitment to achieving the vision of the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program and most recently by her department for her scholarship as a graduate researcher. Jameka strives to be a well-rounded scholar and exhibit her dedication to people and scholarship.
Dr. Monica Cox http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9803-4740 The Ohio State University [biography]

Monica F. Cox, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at The Ohio State University.
Kaitlyn Harper

Download paper (668 KB)

Are you a researcher? Would you like to cite this paper? Visit the ASEE document repository at peer.asee.org for more tools and easy citations.

» Download paper

« View session

For those interested in:

Broadening Participation in Engineering and Engineering Technology