2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The purpose of this practice paper is to share new accomplishments made by our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force to enable others to implement similar changes in their own contexts. Previously, we shared the process of forming a DEI Task Force within a Mechanical Engineering Department and described initial efforts at programming and engaging students. Here we focus on two specific efforts within the DEI Task Force: a DEI Scholars Program, and a DEI Elective Option which is an outcome of the DEI Scholars Program.

The DEI Scholars Program provides opportunities for mechanical engineering students and postdocs to make an impact on DEI efforts in the department. DEI Scholars and Associates propose and execute projects in collaboration with department faculty and staff. Projects were selected in part based on their ability to create systemic change in the department, rather than activities relying solely on the DEI Task Force itself. To counteract the effect of the “minority tax”, DEI Scholars (the project leads) and Associates (project support team members) receive a funded scholarship. Launched in 2021, the program has supported 7 DEI Scholars and 10 Associates over 3 cycles, leading to three major DEI initiatives being pursued with continuity and growth, including via promoting successful Associates to the Scholars position.

One project was to formulate and propose a DEI Elective Option for undergraduate students in mechanical engineering. The DEI Elective Option allows these students to dedicate a portion of their existing degree requirements towards learning about identities and experiences different from their own, the impact of technology on all people, and how supporting DEI looks on a local, national, and global scale. The goal is to mold graduates who will practice their professions in ways that serve all, including members of underrepresented, underserved, and disadvantaged communities. In this way, students gain tools to foster an inclusive culture and mindset in their future industry jobs, startups, research endeavors, project teams, communities, and beyond. The DEI Elective Option was approved by the department and launched in the fall of 2023.

Here we showcase the Department’s DEI Elective Option as an exemplar of the DEI Scholars Program and the DEI Task Force’s mission and process. We explain and demonstrate how the DEI Elective Option was chosen, and the motivations behind choices made in how it was structured. In particular, an elective option was chosen over the idea of a minor or certificate, as done in other institutions, to avoid administrative burdens and to address concerns about engineering students overloading themselves with additional course requirements. We also discuss the process of creating and obtaining approval for the program, including handling faculty and administrative reception and securing broad buy-in for the proposal.

Using data and feedback on the initial student reception to and participation in the program, we close by discussing potential future challenges and ideas to overcome them. We also explore how our “incubator” approach, where the DEI Task Force proposes and works out changes to be integrated within departmental systems and engages students and postdocs by mimicking an approach to innovation commonly used by engineers in both the academy and in the field. The engineering-focused pedagogical approach of this DEI Task Force, the student-centered structure of its activities, the path from Associate recruitment to potential promotion to Scholar, and the program’s overall relative simplicity provide a model to enable other academic programs to implement similar approaches to promote DEI efforts and create sustainable change.