The Background
Community colleges are oftentimes the gateway to higher education for a diverse student population. Like many of California’s 115 Community Colleges, Santa Monica College faces the challenge of diversifying its faculty to better reflect our student population of 40% Hispanic. Located along the western edge of Los Angeles County, a county that has a projected population of 10.5 million, 50% of whom identify as Hispanic in 2020 - Santa Monica College’s faculty with 17.19% identifying as Hispanic does not reflect the ethnically diverse world of Los Angeles County. Beyond the Hispanic group, all ethnicities of color are under-represented within the faculty and academic administer employee groups, and are the focus of recruitment outreach.
The Challenge
How do we increase underrepresented groups (with a focus on ethnicity) in the faculty and leadership positions when there is little personnel turnover?
The Approach
We have addressed this inequity in a variety of ways, starting with our Mission Statement, which has identified inclusivity and diversity in the social, cultural, political, economic, technological, and natural environment as important to providing, and supporting stated Institutional Learning Outcomes and goals. Equity-mindedness is foundational not only to recruitment but to all initiatives at the College. Collaboration with the Academic Senate, Management Association and Classified staff to further trainings and workshops focused on equity, communication, diversity, and inclusivity are ongoing. In an effort to expand the applicant pool, advertising has increased substantially, job bulletins have been redesigned, and brochures include EEO, equity and equivalency statements, which also appear on all online job postings. EEO training is mandatory for all search committees, and Skype is offered for out-of-area interview candidates. Professional development and leadership training spotlighting diversity, equity, collaboration, and communication for faculty and staff are offered year round. An annual Faculty Job Fair & Open House is held to attract new applicants for full and part-time pools, and speakers focusing on equity, unlawful discrimination, and unconscious bias have been spotlighted in every professional development day for the past several years.
Results
Starting in 2009 we have tracked ethnic identification of all employees and since 2010, academic applicants, allowing us to gauge whether our efforts have been successful. Just looking through the Hispanic lens between 2012 and 2019 shows very limited improvement of ethnic diversity within the SMC employee groups, and nothing close to the level of Hispanic identification within the county population.
However, change is happening. The drumbeat of diversity, inclusivity, and equity is growing louder and coming from all areas of the SMC community. Perhaps it is not the color of one’s skin that is important, but the lens of equity through which one sees the world. Our students benefit from the equity infused education that assists with enabling them to be open minded and forward thinking students. We have pledged to collaborate with our faculty to change the culture and to communicate our commitment to building equity and diversity for our students in hiring.
The work of diversity is not finished. The work continues.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery has served as Superintendent and President of Santa Monica College (SMC) since February 2016. With over four decades of diverse higher education experience, Dr. Jeffery has successfully served roles as college professor, academic and career counselor, and superintendent/president. She is highly regarded and respected by her peers and colleagues for her knowledge and experience in educational leadership, and especially for her strong background in student services, transfer curriculum and Career Technical Education (CTE). She is a passionate advocate for higher education, courageous and innovative, and takes pride in using a student-centered approach to face the challenges and opportunities that are part of the emerging landscape of higher education.

As Vice President of Human Resources, Sherri Lee-Lewis serves as SMC’s Chief Human Resources and Equal Employment Opportunity Officer and is responsible for leadership and administration of all aspects of personnel matters including employment, diversity, staff development and training, benefits, compensation, employee and labor relations, contract administration, and legal and regulatory compliance regarding personnel services. As part of her primary duties, she serves as a negotiator during collective bargaining with the college's exclusive representative groups; serves as liaison with the Santa Monica College Personnel Commission; and plans and directs the actions and services of the Human Resources Office staff to include effective integration of the college management information system with Los Angeles County Office of Education personnel/payroll services, among others.
Sherri has over 25 years of human resources experience in the public and private sector. Most recently, she has served as Interim Vice-President of Human Resources at Santa Monica College since January 2018. She began her HR career at SMC in January 1990 as a Personnel Specialist, and moved on to progressive roles within the HR department as Personnel Manager, Associate Director, Assistant Dean, Dean, and Acting Associate Vice-President. Prior to that, she worked as an HR Representative for U.S. Administrators, Inc. and taught Human Resources Management and Human Relations in Business as a Business Instructor here at SMC from Fall 1991 – Spring 1994.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Communications from the University of Southern California and a Master of Arts in Educational Administration (Business Specialization) from California State University, Los Angeles.

Dr. Tre'Shawn Hall-Baker is Interim Dean of Human Resources for Santa Monica Community College. She has worked in California public schools for more than 18 years, holding positions in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Classified School Employees Association, and the Los Angeles Community College District- three of the largest institutions in California public education.
Tre’Shawn’s experience in diverse educational environments prepared her for the opportunity to contribute to Santa Monica College’s efforts towards building equity, diversity, and inclusion in hiring by leading presentations and cross-functional teams in these vital areas. She has worked collaboratively with the organizational leaders to explore and build new knowledge that was timely and intentional for organizational change.
Tre’Shawn also has a passion for positive conflict and recognizes how differences in thoughts, worldviews, and perception fosters an environment of creativity and provides the best experience and visions for success to a diverse student population.

The ability to train and retain underrepresented minority (URM) students is key to diversifying academia. The graduation and retention of undergraduate students in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields in the United States has been widely discussed, in part owing to the call to increase the size of the STEM workforce, and the U.S. Department of Labor has predicted a gap of approximately 1.6 million workers with degrees in computing sciences between the available employee pool and national demand. The 2012 report of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology emphasized the need for a STEM-educated workforce prepared to enhance the country’s competitiveness in the global marketplace. A recent report from the National Academy of Medicine describes the dire situation in medicine and what the lack of full participation by underrepresented minorities portends for the nation.
More than half of first-year URM students report that they intend to major in a science or engineering field, together they earn only about 17 percent of the bachelor’s degrees granted in those fields. Transfer students, especially those who are transferring from two-year colleges to four-year institutions, are indispensable in this issue. Yet there are few if any studies that examine the factors that specifically influence URM transfer students’ retention and graduation in STEM majors. There is much work to be done both in terms of research and practice or engagement. However, often stated values pertaining to diversity do not align with the incentives available to tenure-stream faculty in R1 universities.
The purpose of this work/talk is threefold: (1) to show how these misalignments are not just ineffective but truly counterproductive; (2) to provide examples of the success that is possible when incentives are aligned with the stated values around diversity and inclusion; and (3) to provide what academia may look like when we change our working definitions of success. Part 1 will be achieved via the use of qualitative data. Part 2 utilizes data from a research study at the University of Minnesota examining significant effects on the likelihood of graduation and the length of retention for URM STEM transfer students within three years. Part 3 will describe efforts underway at the University of Illinois to increase the recruitment and retention of women and underrepresented faculty.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Sean C. Garrick became the inaugural Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in July 2019. Dr. Garrick leads the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion unit and his purview extends over the Office for Access and Equity, the Title IX and Disability office, Academic Inclusive Excellence and the Office for Business Community Economic Development. In addition, Garrick serves on the Chancellor’s leadership team, providing vision and advice on diversity and social justice issues.
Prior to Illinois, Dr. Garrick was Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities where his scholarship focused the modeling and simulation of turbulent, reacting, multiphase flows. Garrick earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 1998 from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Sheila Caldwell
Dr. Sheila Caldwell currently serves as the inaugural Chief Intercultural Engagement Officer for Wheaton College. She collaborated across the college to create the first Christ-Centered Diversity Commitment Statement. Her responsibilities include driving excellence and effective classroom practices by professionally developing deans, department chairs, and faculty members. Furthermore, she ensures all search committees are aware of unconscious bias and high-impact inclusive hiring strategies. Her aim is to fortify work and classroom spaces to create a sense of belonging, and to make certain all members feel love, respected, and valued. She is a diversity and student success champion with two decades of experience in higher education.
Caldwell earned a Doctorate in Education from the University of Georgia. Her dissertation was centered on economically disadvantaged women utilizing STEM education as a pathway to success. She completed Harvard Kennedy School Strategies for Building and Leading Diverse Organizations Executive Education program. Her professional affiliations include memberships with National Association for Diversity Officers in Higher Education, Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, and Complete College America.
Rochelle Bornett Lee
Rochelle Bornett Lee, Ed.D., M.B.A., RT (N) is a certified Nuclear Medicine technologist by the ARRT since 1981. She is an Assistant Professor and Program Director of Nuclear Medicine at Georgia Southern University-Armstrong Campus located in Savannah, Georgia. She has served Georgia Southern University in these capacities since 2004. Dr. Lee completed a doctoral degree in Higher Education Leadership in August 2018. She continues to serve the Nuclear Medicine profession as well as other pursuits in higher education. Dr. Lee has spoken at local imaging meetings (CSITS), state meetings for educators (GEARMI), and national meetings on race and education (CRSEA). Her research and scholarship interests include Critical Race Theory, Womanism, Portraiture, and issues diversity in Higher Education.
Anne Nelson
Nancy Molina was born in Central American and immigrated to the United States as a child. She is the first person in her family to graduate college and certainly the first person in her family to hold a professional degree. Her unique perspective and experiences help shape her day-to-day management style. Nancy received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston Law Center, and received her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Houston, with highest honors.
Paula O'Loughlin
Anne Nelson is the assistant dean of student services of the Monte Ahuja College of Business at Cleveland State University. In her role, she is responsible for generating and maintaining enrollment, working with faculty to enhance the business education curriculum, overseeing the College’s student engagement services, leading the Academic Advising teams (undergraduate and graduate), creating career development/exploration programs and administering the College’s Scholarship Program. In addition, she supports and develops funding opportunities to enhance student engagement programs and scholarship needs.
Anne has developed many initiatives including proposing and developing the General Business BBA Online Degree Completion Program for adult students (the program launched in Fall 2013); creation of the Business Professional Mentorship Program, the Diversity and Inclusion Business Week, and the Diverse Professors: From the Boardroom to the Classroom Program. Also, the creation of corporate partnerships for student programs such as the first Business Internship and Co-Op Expo in Fall 2014 (financial sponsorship from KeyBank for the last five years); KeyBank Day, Women in Business, and the Banking Industry and Workforce Symposium. Currently, Nelson is leading a team of faculty with the development of a new undergraduate degree that she begin to explore and complete research for over the last five years.

While universities have become more diverse and yielded more women in STEM and people of color as graduates from master's and doctoral level programs, faculty roles have remained relatively stagnant. The purpose of this presentation is to highlight best practices which cultivate a healthy recruitment, selection, and retention process for faculty of color and women in STEM.
Often outreach and recruitment methods utilize traditional and standard means to attract a diverse talent pool. As a result, the pools many search committees have to select a candidate from do not have the type of diversity that is needed to produce a diverse and inclusive outcome. In addition, recruiting a critical mass of candidates is a healthy way to build a diverse and inclusive cohort, but often departments do not have the means or capacity for multiple hires.
In this session, we will highlight how biases play a critical role in the ongoing underrepresentation of faculty of color and women in STEM and ways to develop healthy frameworks which provide search committees with diverse faculty candidates.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Karen Jackson-Weaver is the Associate Vice President of Global Faculty Engagement and Innovation Advancement at NYU. She is an expert on educational policy and a former dean-in-residence at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University. Dr. Jackson-Weaver is a historian specializing in religion, ethics, and political affairs. She has also served as an academic dean at Princeton University as well as Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Prior to her leadership roles in higher education, Dr. Jackson-Weaver served under three gubernatorial administrations as the Executive Director of the New Jersey Amistad Commission where she reported to the Commissioner of Education and the Secretary of State. In this role, she facilitated and led institutes throughout the country and edited two volumes of primary source documents which culminated in the publications "Reconstruction Reconsidered: The African-American Presence in American History" and "The Amistad Curricular Guide to American History." She earned her bachelor’s degree at Princeton University, a master’s degree at Harvard University, and a PhD in American History from Columbia University, where she was a Kluge Scholar Fellow, Merit Dissertation fellowship winner, and nominee for the university-wide teaching award.

The plans to build the Thirty Meter Telescope at the top of Mauna Kea continues to provide an opportunity for important discussions of respect for Native Hawaiian rights and values, the role of Hawaii in advancing science and technology, and the rule of law and role of government. The University of Hawaii is at the heart of these discussions, serving as a fulcrum to try and resolve competing interests and needs. One of the first challenges is to move from the various dichotomous pulls/opinions/stances to creating a space for meaningful discussions. The University continues to work on our mission to become a “Hawaiian Place of Learning”. As we work to define our role as an indigenous serving institution with a mission to embody a "Hawaiian Place of Learning" we also strive to fully achieve/meet our mission as the states’ R1 flagship University.
In acknowledging this tension, administration's central focus and challenge has been how to bring together our divided campus community. There is often a pull to false dichotomies that stop conversations and create further divides. The strong feelings on both sides of the debate over how, or even whether, to move forward with the TMT construction indicate that the issues at play run as deep as Mauna Kea stands tall. The conversations reveal that at the core of these tensions are issues of institutional racism, the legacy of colonialism, and our current mission to strive for equity and fairness. Our students, faculty and staff are looking to University administration to address their varied concerns and to bring some form of resolution. How we respond will shape the University of Hawaii at Manoa for years to come.
This is a real challenge, unfolding in real time. As administrators within Academic Affairs and the University President's Office, we are currently working to develop ways to address this deep divide. We acknowledge that this goes beyond Mauna Kea. As such, we see this as an opportunity for University administration to take courageous action to begin to address these deep-seated issues in an inclusive way that supports all members of our campus community and honors multiple voices and opinions. We are currently in the initial ideation stages: identifying the problem(s) and formulating institutional responses. This has involved bringing in multiple stakeholders and working across traditionally siloed offices to create multi-pronged approaches to address tensions on campus. It has also involved creative thinking about how the new leadership structure and recent creation of a Provost's Office could be helpful in formulating a robust and meaningful response. We are also looking to what our peer institutions have done to grapple with challenges of institutional racism and tailoring their initiatives to the uniquely diverse demographics of Hawaii.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Beverly McCreary has been employed as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Personnel since 2009. In this capacity she is responsible assisting individuals in understanding the intersection between the University Policies/Procedures and the Collective Bargaining Agreement, as well as for overseeing the tenure and promotion process for the Mānoa campus. She has her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Southern California, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Oregon.
Amrita Mallik currently serves as the Campus Climate Program Officer for the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where she focuses on initiatives to foster and support a diverse, inclusive and engaged campus environment. She previously worked as a program officer in Academic Personnel with OVCAA. Prior to joining the UH Mānoa team, Amrita worked as a Senior Trial Attorney for the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, serving as the lead attorney for the Honolulu Local Office. She is also a trained mediator and arbitrator with a successful workplace mediation practice, and is the current President of the Association for Conflict Resolution, Hawaiʻi Chapter. Amrita received her J.D. cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School, and her B.A. in comparative literature from Brown University.

Anjeanette Oberg
I am a high school drop out, teen mom, first generation college students, domestic and sexual assault survivor. I am now a Psychology professor, Department Chair, Senate Flex Coordinator, and active faculty member and ally at my college advocating for the diverse needs of our students. I have endured various traumas over my lifetime, and thankfully have experienced Post Traumatic Growth as a result, all of which have fueled my passion to inspire, educate, and support students who may be facing similar barriers in their lives and still finding the self love, self compassion, and self confidence to aspire toward their own academic and career goals.
Myoung Joo Chun
Myoung Joo is director of graduate interior architecture program at Endicott College. She has been practicing and teaching in Boston, New York, Yanbian in China and Seoul in Korea.
Josephina Encarnacion
Josephina Encarnacion is currently The Director of the Latino Business Resource Center at Kutztown University’s Small Business Development Center. Encarnacion received a Marketing degree at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic. She also obtained a Master of Science degree in Human Resources Management from Capella University and a Masters of Business Administration from Alvernia University. Encarnacion is fluent in both English and Spanish.
As the Director of The Kutztown University Latino Business Resource Center (LBRC), Encarnacion assists with hosting an eight-week seminar for small business owners. During the eight-week seminar, the LBRC utilizes an innovative blended learning model for education. She was the Director of Administrative Services for the City of Reading. In this leadership role she managed seven departments. Josephina owns her small business coaching firm called My Source Entrepreneur (Mis Recursos Empresariales) to service entrepreneurs who speak Spanish. This creates entrepreneurs who are confident in making decisions that help them to be leaders in their market. Through this approach, Mrs. Encarnacion has helped entrepreneurs to acquire and improve skills that will keep them competitive in their industries. She has been a speaker at events held at the Latino Chamber of Commerce , Small Business Development Center and Reading Alliance Chamber of Commerce in Berks County, PA. Her topics range from business entrepreneurship, diversity, and inclusion to levels of awareness and self-esteem.
Sophie Feng
Sophie Feng, PhD, MD, is a graduate of Bengbu Medical School. She was trained in cardiology at Shanghai Hongkou District Hospital, and also earned a PhD in Spots Medicine at Shanghai Institute of Physical Education. Dr. Feng practiced cardiology for eight years, and then completed post-doctoral training at Boys Town Research hospital and Creighton University, Omaha, NE in the United Stated. Dr. Feng worked at couple of companies such as Mutual of Omaha and Alphabet, InC before she started to teach at Nebraska Methodist College, and Clarkson College at Omaha. She currently teaches anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, imaging anatomy, complementary and alternative medicine from undergraduate to graduate programs in both colleges. Dr. Feng recently received advancement in rank to Professor, and currently hold five research and teaching grants based on classroom innovation and clinical practice. Dr. Feng became a physician supervisor of ACLS training program in 2017. She is also a panel reviewer for “Urologic Nursing”, and have published over thirty manuscripts in prestigious journals.
Nhora Lucía Serrano
Dr. Nhora Lucía Serrano is the Associate Director for Digital Learning & research at Hamilton College. Originally from Colombia, Dr. Serrano is a trained Early Modern Comparative Literature scholar whose areas of focus include: Technology Enhanced Learning & Educational Innovation, Digital Humanities, History of Book History/Print Culture, Visual Studies (Graphic Narratives and Editorial Cartoons & Comics), Latin America/Latinx, and Medieval And Renaissance Studies.
In 2018 Dr. Serrano was selected to be a Mellon Press Diversity Fellow at the MIT Press/MIT. In 2017 she was selected as a 2018 Eisner Industry Awards judge. During the summer 2017, she was awarded a summer NEH Institute fellowship to participate in a 4-week seminar at the Newberry Library where she researched early 20th century Chicago Tribune cartoons. In 2014 she was awarded a Smithsonian National Postal Museum fellowship for her project on the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair postal cards and postage stamps and its relationship to editorial cartoons. Dr. Serrano is a founding member and currently the Treasurer of the Comics Studies Society, and presently serves on the MLA Executive Forum on Book History, Print Cultures, Lexicography. Previously, she was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature at Hamilton College, and a Visiting Scholar of Comparative Literature at Harvard University. From 2014-2018, she served on the MLA Executive Forum on Comics and Graphic Narratives.

This talk explores the use of an embedded triad approach to organizing diversity planning and implementation at Grinnell College, a small, selective liberal arts college in Iowa. Drawing on the work of scholar Lucy LePeau ‘s A Grounded Theory of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs Partnerships for Diversity and Inclusion Aims and Sara Ahmed’s On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life, this talk explores the successes, challenges, and opportunities for a systemic campus culture shift when seasoned diversity professionals with field-based expertise are simultaneously embedded in academic affairs, student affairs, and human resources.
Presenters will explore how strategic planning, cross-disciplinary sharing, and trust-building work to build a collaborative process for moving daily diversity and inclusion work forward throughout an institution of higher education. The talk will explore navigating committees, governance structures, professional staff and faculty networks, student organizations, and alumni to dismantle institutional barriers and build strong structures that support ongoing diversity and inclusion work.
This interactive workshop will ask participants to grapple with the following important questions: How can you move beyond the planning and development stage of diversity and inclusion work? How might you best utilize campus resources (monetary, professional networks, and staff/faculty/students/alumni) to support diversity and inclusion aims? Are your current organizational structures and governance practices supporting and/or hindering the daily work of diversity professionals on your campus? Is your institution prepared to identify and remove potential barriers to the successful implementation of diversity and inclusion initiatives? How can senior administrators manage and navigate competing claims on diversity professionals’ time from different parts of the campus, as well as manage the timeliness and overall pace of systemic change?
BIOGRAPHY
Lakesia Johnson is Associate Professor of Gender, Women’s, & Sexuality Studies and English at Grinnell College, where she is currently serving as Assistant Vice-President of Diversity & Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer. Dr. Johnson has over 25 years of teaching and 10 years of diversity and inclusion administration experience in higher education. Johnson received her bachelor’s from Smith College and she earned her J.D., M.A., and Ph.D. in Women Studies from The Ohio State University. Her areas of teaching and research include Black Women’s Studies, Feminism and Popular Culture, Feminist Legal Theory, and Chicana Feminist Thought. She is author of Iconic: Decoding Images of the Revolutionary Black Woman published by Baylor University Press.

Maure Smith-Benanti is the Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Grinnell College where she is passionate about engaging, empowering, and encouraging students from traditionally marginalized backgrounds. She has eight years of teaching experience and over 12 years of experience in Student Affairs. She has served on thousands of panels and presented widely on diverse topics, including LGBTQIA+ students, faculty, and staff. She has assisted two institutions of higher education in developing and implementing policies regarding All-Gender restrooms and names-in-use. She co-authored a book chapter “Why We Can't Wait: Gender Inclusive Residence Hall Spaces at the University of Oregon.” in Trans* Policies and Experiences in Housing & Residence Life. Jason Garvey, editor During her time at the University of Oregon, she had the privilege of working with the Higher Education Coordinating Committee to assist the state in implementing Oregon Senate Bill 473, which required all each public university to allow students, faculty, and staff to identify sexual orientation on forms used to collect demographic data. Maure grew up in Provo, Utah and completed her formal education at Utah State University. She is a life-long learner and educator who enjoys good poetry, equity, justice, and digging around in the dirt.

Marc Reed is currently the Diversity Recruiting Manager at Grinnell College where he is responsible for developing and implementing diversity recruitment and retention strategies for staff employment at the college. As a native of Gary Indiana, the grandson of a sharecropper, and a product of the Great Migration, Marc developed a unique and intimate lens of inequality that resulted in a passion for diversity and inclusion. Marc is a firm believer in servant leadership, which is reflected in his founding of Breakthrough Career Development and Leadership Institute, an organization designed to assist youth from marginalized communities with identifying their passions and goals and developing a tangible plan to achieve them. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management and has worked in the Human Resources field for 11 years, primarily in the financial sector, where he designed recruitment strategies that increased diversity.

Mentoring is an important mechanism for fostering the growth of faculty careers. Studies have found that mentoring is associated with workplace performance, positive work attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction, career satisfaction), greater intentions to stay and fewer work withdrawal behaviors, and career success (e.g., greater compensation and promotions; Allen, Eby, Poteet, Lentz, & Lima, 2004). However, in many organizational settings, racial minority individuals and women report receiving different types or amounts of mentoring (e.g.,Allen & Eby, 2004). Thus, understanding mentoring experiences of faculty of color can allow for the development of successful activities that enhance and improve their mentoring and positive career outcomes, including formal leadership roles in organizations.
This session will describe the mentoring experiences and perceptions about effective mentoring and mentoring challenges, of faculty of color who participated in a qualitative research study at a large, research intensive institution.
Case studies will provide session participants an opportunity to discuss strategies and interventions that address the issues identified by the study participants, with an emphasis on the ways in which women of color, as compared to men of color viewed their mentoring experiences. The presenters will also share the various recommendations for mentoring that resulted from the study.
BIOGRAPHY
Paulette Granberry Russell is Michigan State University's senior diversity officer responsible for facilitating MSU’s efforts to advance a diverse and inclusive university environment. Areas of responsibility includes cross-cultural education and development programs, including an implicit bias certificate series, Dialogues on Race and Gender for undergraduate and graduate students, and faculty and staff, and a Diversity and Inclusion Co-Curricular Certificate Program for undergraduate students. The office engages in community outreach (campus and surrounding community), workforce diversity initiative, campus climate assessments, and provides professional and social support for faculty of color and diversity scholars through the office’s Diversity Research Network.
Granberry Russell was an integral part of the National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant—Advancing Diversity through the Alignment of Policies and Practices—at MSU, designed to increase the participation of women in science, technology, and engineering and math careers in higher education. She is also an officer, on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education.

Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore is dean of Michigan State University (MSU) Honors College and professor with affiliations in Social Work and the Global Urban Studies Program. She is a Michigan American Council on Education (MI-ACE) Women’s Network Institutional Representative, peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission (a regional institutional accreditor), and Senior Associate Editor of the Journal of Urban Affairs. Dr. Jackson-Elmoore is on the University of Kentucky Lewis Honors College External Advisory Board, and MSU Community Economic Development Program Faculty Board of Advisors. She has served as Acting Assistant Dean of the Urban Affairs Programs, Director of the Urban Studies Graduate Program, and Co-Director of the Program in Urban Politics and Policy at MSU. She was a Lilly Endowed Teaching Fellow, Big Ten Academic Alliance Academic Leadership Program Fellow and Executive Leadership Academy Program Fellow. She received a Ph.D. and Masters in Public Administration (University of Southern California) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering (University of Delaware).

Lance Poston
Lance E. Poston, Ph.D., is Executive Director for Inclusive Health and Campus Partnerships at the University of Kentucky. In this capacity, Dr. Poston leads inclusion and belonging focused initiatives across the University that support students, faculty, staff, alumni, and visitors. His daily work is informed by his training as an interdisciplinary scholar of US race, sexuality, and gender (Ph.D. in US History, Ohio University). Dr. Poston directs the University’s Office of LGBTQ* Resources, the Center for Graduate and Professional Diversity Initiatives, and UK’s Inclusive Health Partnerships. He also supports strategic community outreach efforts for the Vice President for Institutional Diversity, including collaborations with public relations and the alumni association. Dr. Poston holds a faculty appointment in the UK Department of Gender and Women’s Studies (College of Arts and Sciences) and is a faculty affiliate in UK's Center for Health Equity Transformations (College of Medicine)..
Samuel L. Bradley, Jr.
Dr. Samuel L. Bradley, Jr. has joined the Boston College School of Social Work as Assistant Professor of Macro Practice focused on equity, justice, and inclusion. He is an accomplished musician, community activist, and administrator with extensive experience in fundraising and communications. Dr. Bradley has expertise in diversity and inclusion, public health, and program innovation. He is particularly passionate about utilizing design thinking as a strategy for developing innovation in higher education as well as leveraging higher education programs to support community outcomes in marginalized communities.
As a professional fundraiser for the College of Music and Media at Loyola University New Orleans, Dr. Bradley worked with individual donors, business partners, and foundations to help create opportunities for philanthropy for gifts between $25,000 and $1,000,000. In addition to his work, Dr. Bradley is proud to have served as a member of the board for the Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans—an organization dedicated to supporting and empowering the culture bearers of New Orleans. Prior to joining BCSSW, Dr. Bradley was Chair of the Forum for Equality, Louisiana’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender human rights organization dedicated to creating a society free from discrimination. Among Dr. Bradley projects, he has led undergraduate immersion programs to Kingston, Jamaica; organized to enhance educational outcomes in New Orleans public school system; and worked with the Obama administration’s Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships on creating interfaith community service projects. Dr. Bradley has achieved the status of Fellow for Life with the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship.
Frances Brown
Dr. Brown is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Michigan School of Psychology. She is an alumna of MSP’s Master and Doctoral Programs and received her degrees in 2004 and 2008, respectively. In addition, Dr. Brown received a Bachelor of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University. Before becoming President, Dr. Brown served as the Michigan School’s Program Director and as Director of Clinical Training. She played a key role in the institution’s achievement of accreditation by the American Psychological Association (APA).
As a fully-licensed psychologist, Dr. Brown maintains a private practice and has worked in the behavioral health division of a large hospital system and in community mental health. Her areas of special interest include writing and communication, working with marginalized populations, and the implications of parentification in children and adults. She is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), APA Division 32 (Society for Humanistic Psychology), and APA Division 44 (Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity). Dr. Brown served as Vice Chair of the Sexual Orientation & Gender Diversity Committee of the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology (NCSPP), and has received awards for her clinical excellence, academic writing, and diversity efforts.
Ashley Grice
Ashley R. Grice (she/her) is a member of the Carnegie Mellon University community, working as a staff member on the Engagement Strategies team within the Alumni Association . She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Exercise Science and a Master of Science in Student Affairs Administration in 2009 and 2011 respectively.
Within her engagement strategies role, she serves as the primary contact for several regional Alumni Networks across the U.S. and oversee the development of several Alumni Identity Networks (including but not limited to LGBTQ+, Black, Latinx, & Womxn) to encourage their continued engagement with the university from a meaningful and intersectional lens. She helps to strategically develop, recruit, retain, support and manage volunteers in the many aspects of network management, including event planning and serves as the Carnegie Mellon University Alumni Association's liaison to offices that center their work around diversity and inclusion for the current student population.
Ashley is currently in her 3rd year of the Doctor of Education program at the University of Pittsburgh, concentrating on Social & Comparative Analysis in Education. Ashley will be seeking to conduct research at Carnegie Mellon this upcoming winter/spring, centering her work around the lived experiences of current students and alumni who identify as members of the Transgender and Gender Non-conforming communities.
Andrea Hickson-Martin
Dr. Hickson-Martin is a five year member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee at Bay Path University and has a wealth of experience in the public and private education settings. She is an advocate for LGBTQIA+ students, faculty and staff, as well, for administrators who are interested in creating a more inclusive environment. Dr. Hickson-Martin is a sought after speaker on LGBTQIA+ inclusion with a reputation for directly addressing matters of relevance and of importance in an accessible and non-threatening manner. She worked in urban education for over a decade and a half in Holyoke and Springfield, Massachusetts. She has been recognized as an Intel Teach to the Future Master Teacher, a Master Teacher with the NASA Living with a Star program, and Grinspoon Teacher of Excellence award winner. Dr. Hickson-Martin is on the Board of Directors for Square One, a non-profit organization serving thousands of children and families every year. She resides in West Springfield, Ma with her wife, Dr. Kathy Martin and their therapy dog, Piper.

Nebraska, Heartland of America with a new state slogan - “Honestly, it’s not for everyone” may be a questionable and quizzical statement to many people unfamiliar with the state, but in 1989, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) specifically the College of Public Affairs and Community Service (CPACS) created a program that provided opportunities for racial and ethnic underrepresented students to pursue a doctoral degree while teaching in their discipline. Gratefully, that wasn’t the ‘tag’ line when this innovative program started. Other colleges soon followed the CPACS’ lead and created similar programs. Now, in 2019 every college at UNO has an MFD program that is now called “Special Faculty Development Program” that extends opportunities to include more inclusion and diversity. Why is this program so special after 30 years? Initially, two deans in CPACS observed that it was difficult to recruit and retain people of color in higher education, namely professors in Omaha, Nebraska, so the idea emerged to take advantage of high achieving master level students of color and convince them to continue their education toward a doctoral degree while teaching. Students were more apt to remain in the area if they had ‘roots’ in the Omaha area.
In the beginning (1989) there were 10 faculty of color who began the academic journey through this unique program (3 College of Education students, 5 College of Public Affairs and Community Service students, 1 Fine Arts student, and 1 Business Administration student). The MFD candidates were able to take up to 15 credit hours of University of Nebraska classes a year at $1 per credit hour and taught an average of two course sections each semester. The salary was comparable to about 75 percent of what a new full-time faculty member at UNO would be paid. Eligibility included being a member of a minority group who was underrepresented on the UNO faculty, possessed a master’s degree and be accepted into a doctoral program. After receiving their doctorate degrees, participants would be eligible to be hired full-time and on the tenure-track system (The UNO Alum, Fall 1994, p. 12-14). If the candidate did not want to join UNO, there was no obligation to stay, candidates were not indentured servants to UNO.
This case study presentation will include a discussion of the original Minority Faculty Development Program in 1989, its’ current evolutions over the past 30 years at UNO, demographic data regarding persons who identify as racial and ethnic doctoral candidates at the national level and what are the current conditions at UNO for faculty of color. Also, the author interviewed an African female who identifies as an LGBTQIA+ and is a student in the Master of Social Work program at UNO. She gave her perspective on what is needed in the current Special Faculty Development Program in order for her to be successful if she joins this program. The Minority Faculty Development Program was a creative program that supported faculty of color at UNO early in their academic careers with the hope that they would remain at UNO and become leaders for the institution. Some of us accomplished that goal, and now it is up to us to support the next generation of scholars, can we do that, or is the state tag line, “Honestly, its’ not for everyone”, unfortunately true?
BIOGRAPHY
Theresa Barron-McKeagney, Ph.D., LCSW, MSW is the Associate Dean for the College of Public Affairs and Community Service at the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO). Previously, she was the Director of the Grace Abbott School of Social Work (GASSW) at UNO. She earned her Bachelor of Social Work degree at the University of Iowa and Master of Social Work degree at UNO. Shortly after graduating with her MSW degree, Dr. Barron-McKeagney was recruited to participate in an innovative program created to respond to the lack of underrepresented faculty of color at UNO in 1989. She successfully completed her doctoral studies at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln and her dissertation was published by Routledge Press (Diciendo Nuestras Cuentos: Las Vidas de Mujeres Latinas-Telling Our Stories: The Lives of Latina Women). Her mentors throughout this process were Dr. Robert Brown (advisor) and Dr. John Creswell (Professor for Qualitative Research Methods). Dr. Barron-McKeagney continued successfully through the ranks of tenure and promotion and is now a full professor at UNO (only one of three Latinos who have this status).
Dr. Barron-McKeagney was selected by the University of Nebraska President (L. Dennis Smith) as an Administrative Fellow for an academic year, selected as a “Nebraska Pioneer”, and then participated in the Bryn Mawr’ program for Women in Higher Education (HERS) Summer Institute. While Director of the GASSW, she was selected to join 11 other national leaders in social work education in an inaugural class for the “Leadership in Aging Academy” sponsored by the New York Academy of Medicine and the John A. Hartford Foundation. She serves on several boards and a national board “Futuro Media” founded by Maria Hinojosa. She spent one year on sabbatical at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio that was transformational. Dr. Barron-McKeagney is the recipient of many awards over her career to which she is very grateful. Dr. Barron-McKeagney received one of the highest honors at the campus level the “Excellence in Teaching Award”, and most recently received the “Chancellor’s Medal.” Her research interests include qualitative research, issues affecting Latino populations, especially mental health, social policy and administration. Her passion is her family, four grandchildren and teaching.

Over the past decade, leaders in higher education have done much to promote the well-being of LGBTQ students on campus. According to the Postsecondary National Policy Institute of the Gates Foundation (2019), approximately a quarter of the nation's colleges/universities prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation by 2017--and, currently, 200 campuses have dedicated/separate offices and/or centers for LGBTQ students. Nevertheless, campus leaders continue to face challenges in recruiting LGBTQ students, which--in many cases--is due to the fact that there are few, if any, financial resources targeted specifically for sexual minority groups.
This presentation will offer a case study that involves the presenter's institution, Furman University, an independent liberal arts college in the Deep South. The presenter (a self-identified gay male) performs mid-level administrative duties as Furman's Director of National/International Scholarships and as chair of the university's LGBTQ Affairs Committee. In these roles, the presenter--in collaboration with other administrators and colleagues--has been involved in helping to create/coordinate financial resources for LGBTQ students and greater awareness about their economic needs at Furman, needs that are typically greater than other populations on campus. This presentation will summarize the successes, frustrations, and failures that Furman's campus leaders have faced during the aforementioned undertakings, as well as the conflicts/tensions that can exist between/among an affinity group, directors of financial aid, and senior development officers.
Attendees will benefit from a firsthand account of how one institution's efforts to create greater LGBTQ diversity and inclusion have fared. This will include a discussion of the mistakes that the institution and/or campus leaders have made, attempts to rectify those mistakes, and what other institutions can potentially learn from those mistakes. The presentation will also suggest how ongoing efforts by higher-education leaders to increase LGBTQ diversity and inclusion may or may not be applicable to other institutions, depending on variables such as campus size, location, and mission.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. A. Scott Henderson has worked at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, for twenty-two years, where he is the Director of National/International Scholarships and the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Education. He holds a Ph.D. in history, with a specialization in U.S. social and political movements during the mid-twentieth century. Scott has published articles and book chapters on the history of American schooling and the challenges faced by LGBTQ students, as well as books on U.S. housing and energy policy. In addition to having been on the board of the National Association of Fellowships Advisers from 2007-2011, he also served as South Carolina President of the American Association of University Professors from 2005-2007.

Charlotte Chun Williams
Professor Charlotte Chun Williams is currently an Associate Dean for Engaged and Global Learning and Professor/Program Coordinator for the Human and Community Service Program at Lenoir-Rhyne University. She also has an extensive Civic Engagement background, having served as the Assistant Commission of Planning for the City of Chicago, and Assistant Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services in the Chicago Mayor's Office. Professor Williams is currently serving as an appointed City Councilwoman on the Hickory City Council and was just elected to a 4 year term on the Hickory City Council. Prior to that she was elected and served two 4 year terms on the Hickory Public School Board.  
In addition to her public service she served and serves on numerous University Committees and community boards. She was the chair of the Lenoir-Rhyne Multicultural Task Force which resulted in the development of the Office of Multicultural Affairs and a Cabinet level Director. In her current role, she oversees one of the University's largest endowments for International Education. With over 20 years experience at Lenoir-Rhyne University in a variety of roles, she has a unique perspective on growing diversity and inclusion at a historical Lutheran Private liberal arts University.
Jeanean Davis-Street
Dr. Jeanean Davis-Street joined Bridgewater State University as an Assistant Professor in September 2009 and assumed the role of chairperson of the Accounting & Finance (ACFI) Department the following semester. After serving as the ACFI Chairperson for three years, Dr. Davis-Street was named as the Founding Associate Dean of the Ricciardi College of Business at Bridgewater State University. Dr. Davis-Street currently serves as the Dean of the Ricciardi College of Business, which has over 2,000 students, 40 faculty/staff members and 15 degree/certificate programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level in 3 departments: Accounting & Finance, Aviation Science, and Management & Marketing.
Dr. Davis-Street attended Florida State University, where she received dual bachelor’s degrees in Finance and Multinational Business within four years. After receiving her undergraduate degrees, she then received one out of twenty annual awards from the McKnight Doctoral Fellowship/Florida Endowment Fund, where she went straight into the doctoral program at the University of South Florida. Prior to completion of her Ph.D., Dr. Davis-Street worked in private industry as a Benefits Analyst overseeing executive compensation plans for several Fortune 500 companies. She later began teaching as an Assistant Professor at Huston-Tillotson University, a small HBCU located in Austin, Texas. Upon moving to Massachusetts and after the completion of her doctorate degree, Dr. Davis-Street served as a Visiting Professor at Bentley University for three years before coming to BSU. Her research interests include: corporate downsizing, employee stock ownership, principal/agent relationships and socially responsible investing. Her community service interests include: financial literacy for youth, tax preparation assistance for elderly and investment strategies for non-profit/charitable organizations.
Emma Gordon
Dr. Emma Gordon, Ph.D., MBA is an influential and results-oriented with higher education HR leadership experience at Stanford University. She skillfully integrates HR and business strategy to create leadership programs that drive sustainable human systems performance. Her areas of expertise & passion include designing learning programs that integrate Unconscious Bias, Cultural Sensitivity, Intercultural Awareness & Valuing Diversity and Inclusion concepts and practices that create workplace positivity and where employees have voice and can thrive to be their best. Recently, she designed and implemented an innovative program that leverage on "Restorative Justice"concepts as a way to help employees have voice to eliminate negative behaviors (e.g., stereotypes, prejudice and racism) while building a community of professionalism and respect for the individual. As an Asian American women in leadership, she is interested in sharing her many stories and experiences on this relevant, yet elusive organizational topic.
Michael Nixon
Michael Nixon is the Vice President for Diversity & Inclusion at Andrews University. He became the first person to hold this position in June of 2017 at the age of 29. Michael is also as an Associate Professor in the History & Political Science Department where he teaches Pre-Law Courses. Prior to this work, Michael served as the Legal Coordinator for the Fair Housing Justice Center in New York City. He has a law degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago John Marshall Law School (UIC-JMLS) in Chicago, Illinois, and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. He became a member of the New York State Bar in 2014.
His previous experience has included the establishment of an Office of Service and Social Action at the University of Saint Francis (Fort Wayne, IN) while serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer, working with the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR - Chicago), and in The JMLS Fair Housing Legal Clinic while attending law school. Michael co-founded “Against The Wall” which focuses on speaking with passionate clarity against walls of racial separation and injustice across the globe – both inside and outside of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, of which he is a member. Michael and his wife Pastor Tacyana Nixon have a little girl, Noa Elise Nixon who is 4.
Daniel A. Wubah
Dr. Daniel A. Wubah is the current president of Millersville University. Prior to that, he served as Provost at Washington and Lee University. His previous positions include deputy provost and vice president for undergraduate education at Virginia Tech; associate provost and professor of zoology at University of Florida; associate dean, professor of biology and special assistant to the president at James Madison University and associate professor and department chair at Towson University. He is a microbiologist with a passion for excellence in liberal arts education and has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles, conference proceedings and technical reports. His research has been supported by The National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Howard Hughes Medical Institutes (HHMI). He was a member of a National Academy of Sciences panel that studied the scientific basis for estimating air emission from animal feeding operations. He is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and testified before the U.S. Congress on how to prepare the science workforce for the 21st century. While at James Madison University, he established the Centennial Scholars Program to provide access to students from under-represented groups. He has also been involved in programs that integrate international experiences in undergraduate education and research, especially for first generation students. He served as the principal investigator for international NSF-Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) sites program in Ghana, which was the longest continuously funded REU site in Africa from 2002 to 2016. He is a member of the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry Board of Directors and the Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital Board of Trustees. In private life, Dr. Wubah is a tribal king (Nana Ofosu Peko III) of Breman Asikuma in the Central Region of Ghana.

The invisible and increasing minority of higher education: Single mothers pursuing degrees and professional advancement. As institutions of higher learning struggle to survive due to increased profit and non-profit competitors and declining enrollment numbers, one often ignored population of students is increasing and can offer an answer to the struggle to maintain student credit hour production numbers. This session will address the reasons why single mothers pursuing degrees and administrative advancement are not viewed as viable recruitment targets.
This session will include a brief simulation exercise followed by a presentation of topic research and conclude with a solution based brainstorming activity.
Participants will participate in a brief simulation activity “A Day in the Life of a Single Mother at an institution of higher learning” Each group (based upon registered participants) will need to make the best of the resources they are given in each scenario and be asked to answer to answer a number of questions related to their simulation experience. After the exercise, we will discuss the challenges associated with being a single mother in the space of higher education academics and administration. Statistics will be presented to show the representation of single mothers in higher education has reached a level that demands attention and support. Lastly, we will collectively brainstorm solutions that can be proposed by female administrators and implemented by universities to create an inclusive atmosphere for single mothers to thrive in higher education institutions, as students or administrators.
BIOGRAPHY
Caroline Sanders has advocated for girls, women and specifically single mother student parents (SMSP’s) for more than twenty years. She founded the first and only, Students with Children organization at Eastern Michigan University in response to her struggle to obtain a graduate degree while being a primary care providing parent for her daughter. She has created and delivered mentoring programs for middle school girls and boys, as well as conducting parent engagement sessions for Detroit Public Schools. Her conference presentations have been delivered at Detroit Public Schools, Michigan Charter School Association, Hawaii International Conference on Education, MI-ACE, and the National Student Parent Success Symposium.
Her doctoral research has centered around parental engagement and single mother student parents. Most recently, Caroline created a collaborative, multi-partner sponsored, pioneering pilot program that will increase the number of child care workers who will earn a credit bearing child development certification at no cost to the participant, in response to a shortage of qualified child care workers in Washtenaw county. She enjoys coupon clipping and thrift shopping, word searches, spending time with her family and friends and her passion is baking.

Bia Hamed is an advocate for Girls in STEM. During her time at Eastern Michigan University, she has helped to build and continually develop programming for middle school and high school students and STEM, such as camps and conferences. One of her programs, Digital Divas, has served middle and high school girls from SE Michigan for almost 10 years. She has single-handedly managed the Digital Divas program while serving students at Eastern Michigan University in her role as coordinator of student services for the College of Engineering & Technology. Bia is working on her doctorate degree in Educational Leadership, researching better ways higher education can serve minority women in STEM majors.In her spare time, she enjoys reading, traveling and gardening. Bia lives in Canton, Michigan with her son Yacoub, who is a senior at Canton High School.

As the largest and fastest growing demographic in the United States, the LatinX community has experienced marginalization through stereotypes in the media that cause concern for families and university administrators. Through the implementation of mentorship programs in higher education, students have benefitted academically and professionally.
This presentation will discuss the implementation of, and highlight the successes of, the Latino-American Mentorship Program (LAMP) at Texas A&M University-Commerce. The nationally recognized program has become a reflection of success for student programming and leads the university diversity and inclusion efforts. Join the LAMP leaders for a discussion about empowering students, navigating the conversations of stereotypes and successful programming on higher education campuses.
BIOGRAPHY
Fernando “Fred” Fuentes Jr., began his professional career as a U.S. Army soldier with Military Police Battalions on bases in the United States and in Latin America. He was the first in his family to graduate high school, community college and graduate school. Fred is a former Director of Health Services, and a Global Health Fellow with Mercy Corps in Guatemala, Panama and Honduras. He served as the Lead Diversity & Inclusion Officer for USAID/GHFP-II in Washington DC before returning to Texas A&M University-Commerce in 2015 to serve in his current role as the Executive Director of Enrollment Management - Transfer Student Initiatives and Student Diversity & Inclusion. Fred is a former foster parent to more than 15 children and adopted his twins in 2014.

In higher education, it sometimes appears as if there’s always a new trend or crisis – for example, the death knell of the traditional textbook, the role of the liberal arts, or the competition for shifting and shrinking pools of applicants – to which university leadership teams, especially those at regional public universities, must respond. Still, some issues recur regularly, requiring deliberate interventions that are informed by both researched best practices and feedback from the constituencies involved. One such issue is the need for improved diversity and accessibility in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.
While higher education administrators might want to celebrate the moderate advancements made in STEM inclusion for women and underrepresented minority (URM) groups in recent years, the National Science Foundation reports that 
Although women have reached parity with men among S&E bachelor’s degree recipients—half of S&E [science and engineering] bachelor’s degrees were awarded to women in 2016—they are still underrepresented in S&E occupations. Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, and American Indians or Alaska Natives have gradually increased their share of S&E degrees, but they remain underrepresented in S&E educational attainment and in the S&E workforce. By contrast, Asians are overrepresented among S&E degree recipients and among employed scientists and engineers.
As administrators dig deeper into the data, certain patterns emerge. Women are generally earning more S&E degrees, but the rates at which they’re earning those degrees vary widely from field to field, and on the whole, the percentage of women earning credentials declines as the degrees become more advanced. Thanks in large part to historically black colleges and universities and high-Hispanic-enrollment institutions, underrepresented minorities have seen significant gains in the percentage of S&E degrees awarded at all levels; however, URM students are still disproportionately represented relative to their representation in the overall population. The study also indicates that women and URM degree recipients are finding consistent representation in the social and biological sciences, but not in mathematics, statistics, or the physical sciences.
The College of Science and Mathematics (CSM) at James Madison University (JMU) is challenging these trends, actively increasing diversity and access across all academic units in the college, which includes Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Geology and Environmental Science, Mathematics and Statistics, and Physics and Astronomy. One way CSM has approached the challenge is through the implementation of a multi-faceted approach that minimizes implicit bias while actively recruiting and retaining faculty who identify as female, URM, and/or person of color; across all units, approximately 62% of full-time instructional hires identify as female, 21% identify as URM, and 29% identify as faculty of color. To better support the CSM community, all college faculty and staff will complete bystander intervention training this fall to raise awareness and build capacity to identify and interrupt interpersonal violence, including sexual violence.
By providing more role models and a more secure community environment, the college has identified additional ways to address the challenge from a student-centered perspective. Some examples include:
- Students were empowered to take on projects like the newly established CSM Student Council, which includes 22 representatives from all units in the college. The students in this group enthusiastically exercised agency, hosting a STEM in Diversity lecture with a visiting scholar, as well as conducting ongoing research to learn more about their peers’ attitudes toward active teaching methodologies. 
- A student-led task force in Chemistry guided their peers through a multi-step conversation about access, which was attended by 50 students and no faculty, leading to a series of recommendations to the department about classroom inclusion practices for both learners and teachers. 
- The Biology department completed SafeZone training last year, raising faculty awareness about the issues LGBTQIA students face at JMU and educating them about campus resources available. 
- Geology faculty are nationally recognized for their efforts in producing innovative strategies to make fieldwork, a core activity in the discipline, accessible to all students regardless of physical ability. They have advanced the use of virtual reality and 3-D printing in the classroom to simulate field environments.
- The Physics and Mathematics departments, representing disciplines that are notoriously lacking in gender diversity, have active support organizations for women in these fields. Math hosts the annual Expanding Your Horizons STEM conference for middle-school girls and their families.
In this talk, we’ll outline what CSM is doing to cultivate inclusive excellence at the college and the department level. CSM and JMU understand that “most creative discoveries happen when people with different perspectives work together, [which is why] the college is committed to supporting a diverse community of learners. Our faculty and staff work to ensure that every student enrolled in CSM courses experiences a welcoming and supportive learning environment.” 
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Heather J. Coltman is the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at James Madison University. In this position, she leads the Division of Academic Affairs and is the institution's Chief Academic Officer, directing the development and delivery of all undergraduate and graduate academic programs at JMU. Dr. Coltman works with faculty to promote scholarship, outreach and inclusive education for all students. In collaboration with other campus leaders, she establishes JMU’s scholastic priorities, ensuring that the university has the necessary resources to build and sustain those objectives.
A solo and collaborative concert pianist, Dr. Coltman has performed, taught and lectured across five continents. Dr. Coltman holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Texas, a Master of Music from the Mannes College of Music in New York and a Bachelor of Music from the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati.

Cynthia Bauerle is Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at James Madison University. They serve as senior editor for CBE-Life Sciences Education, and on advisory boards for various national science education reform initiatives. Bauerle was a member of the writing team for the 2011 AAAS Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education report, and co-chaired the steering committee for the NSF/NIH/HHMI national PULSE initiative. They were elected AAAS Fellow in 2014 and currently serves as a AAAS Council Delegate for the Education Section.
Bauerle is a molecular biologist by training, publishing widely in both scientific and science education journals. Their career interweaves scientific expertise, passion for inclusive teaching, and a commitment to improving STEM education nationally. They held a joint appointment in Biology and Women’s Studies at Hamline University and served as Biology department chair Spelman College. From 2009-16, they served in the Science Education division at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, coordinating national activities related to undergraduate science education grants. In 1999-2000, Bauerle was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania consulting on the development of a national biotechnology training program.
Bauerle earned a B.A. in Biology from the University of Virginia and Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Shaun Fletcher
Dr. Shaun Fletcher is an Assistant Professor of Public Relations and Communications at San José State University. He also serves on the Academic Advisory Board for The Institute for the Study of Sport, Society and Social Change at SJSU, as well as the a board member on Diversity and Inclusion for the Public Relations Society of America - Silicon Valley. Prior to joining San José State, Shaun served as the Manager of Internal Communications at Apple for the Retail Learning and Development organization, connecting the departments mission to its 65,000+ retail employees globally. Shaun also served as a consultant and mentor to Apple’s multimillion dollar partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, bringing students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to Apple for an immersive apprenticeship experience. Dr. Fletcher also established a private consultancy aimed at advancing the diversity and cultural competency challenges in the corporate sector.
Dr. Fletcher holds a Bachelor of Science from San José State University, a Master of Arts from the University of Central Florida, and a Doctorate of Philosophy from Howard University.
Leticia Hahn
Dr. Leticia Hahn is an Associate Professor in the Leadership Department at Niagara University and works in close collaboration with the National Center for Research on Gifted Education. After earning her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Connecticut, she taught courses in Educational Research, Educational Psychology, and Bilingual/Bicultural Education at universities in the US and Mexico. She then moved to Germany, where she served as a core faculty member and academic advisor in the Psychology of Excellence program of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, focusing on gifted education and differential psychology. In Europe, she collaborated with the Pädagogische Akademie Graz, Austria, and the Hochschule Basel, Switzerland, to design an international Master’s program in Gifted/Talented Education, which represented a great foundational step for regions that are more fully delving into this field of education. Her research interests include talent development in sustainability fields, gender differences in mathematical problem solving, gifted underachievers, cross-cultural studies in gifted education, enrichment clusters, and knowledge organizers. She has conducted numerous workshops on the Schoolwide Enrichment Model in Europe, North and South America, has published several articles and book chapters related to talent development and gifted education, and has made numerous presentations at national and international conferences.
LaTonya M. Turner
Dr. LaTonya M. Turner is a highly respected educator. Dr. Turner’s professional background includes serving in every role from an administrator, counselor, and classroom educator. As a former principal, counselor, and teacher, Dr. Turner has been recognized for her ability to design and implement rigorously relevant curriculum. She is also known for the skillful manner in which she constructs K-12 and postsecondary educational programs with favorable measurable results at both the private and public institutional levels. At present, Dr. Turner is the Associate Dean of Academic Quality for the Fred S. Klipsch Educators College at Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Dr. Turner holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Mass Communication and English from Missouri Valley College, a Master’s of Science Degree in Counselor Education Indiana University and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Indiana State University.
Sarah Kate Wilson
Sarah Kate Wilson earned her A.B. in Mathemathics from Bryn Mawr College and her Ph.D. in Electrial Engineering at Stanford University. She has worked in both academia and industry and is currently a Professor of Electrical Engineering at Santa Clara University. Her research area includes wireless radio frequency communications, visible light communications and underwater acoustic communications. She served as the Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Communications Letters from 2009-2011, and has been an associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, IEEE Communications Letters, IEEE Transactions on Communications and the Journal of Communications and Networks. She was the IEEE Communications Society Director of Journals for the term 2012-2013, overseeing four society journals and their Editors-in-Chief. She was the elected Vice-President for Publications for the IEEE Communications Society for the term 2014-2015, overseeing all journals, magazines and online content.
She has received the IEEE Education Society Harriett Rigas Award, the IEEE Women in Communications Engineering Service Award, the IEEE Communications Society Joseph LoCicero Award for Exemplary Service to Publications and is a Fellow of the IEEE for "contributions to Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing." She was the co-general chair (with Andrea Goldsmith) of the IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC) in 2017 http://wcnc2017.ieee-wcnc.org/ in San Francisco which was awarded the IEEE iCon award for the best IEEE Conference of 2017.