2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Using Postdoctoral Summits to Provide Equitable Opportunities

Presented at Faculty Development at Various Career Stages

In this evidence-based practice paper, we examine the role of nationally held virtual summits in creating more equitable postdoctoral opportunities in STEM Education. While faculty positions are generally advertised through well-established channels like journals and professional organizations, postdoc positions are not. Summits can address this structural inequity by connecting a diverse pool of potential candidates with faculty mentors. Drawing on the experiences of the NSF-funded PROMISE project, we outline how one summit successfully brought together postdocs from underrepresented groups with faculty mentors from multiple institutions. In this paper, we share lessons learned from organizing and implementing the PROMISE summit, including:

Building Partnerships and Networks: We discuss how the PROMISE team leveraged existing networks and established new partnerships to ensure a broad reach for postdoc candidates and faculty mentors.

Structuring Summit Activities: The PROMISE summit intentionally moved beyond the traditional job fair format. We discuss the specific activities and approaches that defined the summit structure, including a marketplace for sharing research interests and a focus on mentorship rather than prescriptive research agendas.

Centering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: We discuss how we centered diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in the design, recruitment, and implementation of the summit, creating a welcoming and supportive environment for individuals from underrepresented groups.

Addressing Challenges and Institutional Barriers: We analyze the project team's challenges in developing and hosting a postdoc summit, including navigating university policies and advocating for postdoc needs.

The presentation of this paper will engage attendees in a discussion of equitable hiring practices and how to support the professional development of a diverse STEM professoriate.

Authors

Stephanie A Damas http://orcid.org/https://0000-0001-5397-7577 Clemson University [biography]

Stephanie Ashley Damas is currently a graduate student at Clemson University studying to get her Ph.D. in Engineering and Science Education. Her area of interest is Diversity and Inclusion in Engineering. She holds a bachelorâ€™s degree in electrical engi
Dr. D. Matthew Boyer http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4191-260X Clemson University [biography]

Dr. D. Matthew Boyer is a Research Associate Professor of Engineering & Science Education and an Educational Proposal Writer in the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences at Clemson University.
Dr. Lisa Benson http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5517-2289 Clemson University [biography]

Lisa Benson is a Professor of Engineering and Science Education at Clemson University, and the past editor of the Journal of Engineering Education. Her research focuses on the interactions between student motivation and their learning experiences. Her projects include studies of student perceptions, beliefs and attitudes towards becoming engineers and scientists, and their development of problem-solving skills, self-regulated learning practices, and epistemic beliefs. Other projects in the Benson group involve students’ navigational capital, and researchers’ schema development through the peer review process. Dr. Benson is an American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Fellow, and a member of the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI), American Educational Research Association (AERA) and Tau Beta Pi. She earned a B.S. in Bioengineering (1978) from the University of Vermont, and M.S. (1986) and Ph.D. (2002) in Bioengineering from Clemson University.
Dr. Matthew Voigt http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0692-0142 Michigan State University [biography]

Matthew (he,him,his) is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education at Michigan State University. His research interests center around issues of equity, access, and power structures occurring in undergraduate STEM programs.
Dr. Karen A High Clemson University [biography]

Dr. Karen High holds an academic appointment in the Engineering Science and Education department and joint appointments in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department as well as the Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences department. Prior
Dr. Kelly Lazar http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6403-5649 Clemson University [biography]

Kelly Lazar is an Assistant Professor of Engineering and Science Education at Clemson University with a joint appointment in Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences. Her research largely focuses on recruitment and retention of STEM students through the use of experiential learning opportunities such as virtual reality, field experiences, and undergraduate research opportunities. Her education includes a B.S. in Geology from North Carolina State University, a M.S. in Geological Sciences from East Carolina University, and a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from The Ohio State University.
Dr. Eliza Gallagher http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9579-8777 Clemson University [biography]

Dr. Gallagher is an Assistant Professor of Engineering and Science Education at Clemson University, with joint appointments to Mathematical Sciences and Education & Human Development. Her research interests include student cognition in mathematics, development of teacher identity among graduate teaching assistants, curricular reform to foster diversity and inclusion in STEM fields, and development of mathematical knowledge for teaching. She is co-PI on an NSF INCLUDES Design and Development Launch Pilot, "Statewide Coalition: Supporting Underrepresented Populations in Precalculus through Organizational Redesign Toward Engineering Diversity (SC:SUPPORTED)," Award #EEC-1744497.
Katreena Thomas http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-1376-3299 Clemson University [biography]

Katreena Thomas is a graduate student at Arizona State University in the Engineering Education Systems and Design Doctoral program and the Human Systems Engineering Master's program. She is a member of the Shifting Perceptions, Attitudes and Cultures in E

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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