Discipline: Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences
Subcategory: STEM Science and Mathematics Education
Orlando Taylor - Fielding Graduate University
Co-Author(s): Kelly Mack, Association of American Colleges and Universities, Washington, DC; Melissa Wynn, Fielding Graduate University, Washington, DC
The most recent recommendations of the NSF Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE, 2017) urges that NSF utilize its convening power to impact its broadening participation portfolio through professional development workshops and online resources. However, traditional faculty development approaches are far too insufficient to produce the levels of broadening participation necessary to make widespread, systemic differences in the representation of women and ethnic minorities in STEM. Instead, STEM faculty professional development must now be: 1) grounded in the theories, research, and best practices of leadership studies; 2) focused broadly on national coalition building; and 3) mindful of the need for leader wellbeing. Embracing leadership as a key element for broadening participation, though, requires that we first address two significant barriers – the lack of diverse STEM faculty in leadership positions and the dearth of culturally relevant leadership development opportunities that can support such faculty. To that end, Fielding Graduate University, in collaboration with the Society of STEM Women of Color, Inc., introduces the SANKOFA Leadership Development Series. SANKOFA, loosely translated to “looking back while going forward” serves as the conceptual framework upon which this professional development model – comprised of a Leadership Academy, Author Development Institute, and Well-Being Workshop – will strategically use lessons learned from successful past performances in leadership development for STEM women faculty of color to chart a new path forward. This curriculum holistically captures the lived experiences of women of color and translates them into effective practices for professional growth and development, while foregrounding the intersectional complexity of the lived experience of women of color as the core component for individual, institutional, and social change. As such, this proposed leadership development series centralizes – and thereby confers cultural authority to – that “lived experience” and enacts it through the structure and themes of every activity. This, in turn, ensures that intersectional complexity and how it impacts the lives of women of color in STEM permeate the entire leadership development experience. This poster presentation will highlight the conceptual framework of SANKOFA, its principal components, and preliminary qualitative data that supports its structure.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): National Science Foundation HBCU Undergraduate Program
Faculty Advisor: None Listed,