2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are paramount to producing an engineering workforce to solve the complex issues faced by a global workforce and to provide a better life for the global community. This has been recognized by ASEE in the creation of the Diversity Recognition Program (ADRP) and by ABET with the changes in Criteria 5 and 6 to take effect in the 2023-2024 accreditation cycle as a pilot program. The University went through reaccreditation for its programs in the 2023-2024 cycle and has obtained reaffirmation of its Bronze status under the ASEE ADRP. The University is situated in the New York metropolitan area. This region represents a very diverse community and the students in our engineering programs mirror this diversity. In addition, we do not have a separate admission to the School of Engineering and Applied Science. The combination of our region and less restrictive entrance to the program means we tend to have a larger proportion of first-generation students and the need to address the varied preparation that students receive in mathematics before entering the university. The following paper covers approaches to DEI as a culture within the university and specifically for the School of Engineering and Applied Science. To aid in the development and assessment of DEI initiatives a seven-member committee was created. The committee developed a DEI Statement which is published on the University website. Our previous ADRP plan of action to promote diversity in the student and faculty populations included four measures: increasing the proportion of women, increasing the retention of black students between first and second years, welcoming more international students, and maintaining a high level of diversity among faculty by utilizing strategies in conjunction with the university’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. Several of the initiatives utilized, such as a Women’s Summer Program in Computing/Engineering and a special summer math preparation course, were initially adversely impacted by COVID. Despite that interruption in in-person activities in 2020, the school did see progress in the proportion of female students (23.9% in Fall 2022 versus 20.9% in Fall 2019). The revised plan includes a focus on addressing the imbalance of secondary school preparation, continuing to address gender imbalance, detailed monitoring of retention of URMs who participated in specific program initiatives, increasing faculty and staff awareness of diversity, employing best practices learned through participation in professional conferences with DEI components, and creating concrete strategies geared toward fostering a culture of inclusion within the curriculum. The full paper will go into more detail on the initiatives being undertaken to achieve these goals and how such strategies were integrated into the DEI plan for the ABET visit in October of 2023.