A Planning Grant to Support Intergenerational Mentoring Among African American Women in the Engineering Academy

工程学影响着一个不同于任何其他职业的国家的健康和活力，而工程学的未来和美国的全球竞争力与扩大社会各阶层中代表不足的群体的参与密不可分。非洲裔美国女性是工程学教师中代表性最低的群体之一，她们面临着独特的挑战，影响了她们在学院的留任。该项目的成果将促进我们对所有级别的工程学院中非裔美国女性成功的抑制和促进因素的理解。该项目的资金将用于为非洲裔美国妇女和工程教员举办一系列活动，其中一些活动包括：与美国工程教育学会(ASEE)2019年年会同时举办的半天讲习班；鉴于非裔美国妇女和工程教员每天面临的挑战、障碍和成功促进者的问题，验证和阐明当前文献的研究研究；以及提议随后举办为期两天的讲习班。讲习班将为工程学教师中人数最少的群体之一提供一个机会，让他们在一个安全的空间里聚集在一起：讨论她们经历的共同挑战；反思和集思广益，帮助他们取得成功；在非裔美国女教员中发起一个全国网络，以鼓励和支持她们在学院和国家工程学领导职位上的进步；并在具有相似个人经历和兴趣的同事中发展一个指导网络。国家网络的形成将提供指导、榜样和其他形式的心理社会支持的背景，有助于留住代表性不足的工程学教师--这对于建设多元化的技术劳动力队伍是必要的，以保持我们的全球竞争力和国家繁荣。在高等教育中扩大代表性不足群体对工程学的参与是国家优先事项，非裔美国女性教师在工程学项目中的成功对于在这一感兴趣的领域取得进展至关重要。虽然现有的文献充满了这一群体在各个学术级别面临的独特的留任挑战，但关于代际指导的学术研究为这个拟议的研讨会提供了基础，该研讨会的重点是不同学术级别的非裔美国女性工程学教师的留任和成功问题。本研究采用趋同的平行混合研究设计，运用定性和定量的证据，充分了解个人因素、环境因素、制度实践、程序和政策可能对非裔美国女性、工程学院的持久性产生不利影响。作为这一项目、研讨会和后续研究的结果，我们将掌握必要的信息，为非裔美国女性工程学教员建立一个联盟，并制定一份蓝图，以创建侧重于扩大参与和确保非裔美国女性工程学教员成功进步的教育研究议程。这项研究将作为更大范围的后续研究的基础。这项研究的洞察力将同时推动多个工作机构的发展。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Engineering affects the health and vitality of a nation unlike any other profession, and the future of engineering and the global competitiveness of the U.S. is inextricably connected to broadening the participation of underrepresented groups at all highest levels of society. African American women are among the least represented among engineering faculty, and a demographic that faces unique challenges that affect their retention in the academy. The outcomes of this project will advance our understanding of the inhibitors and promotors of success among African American women among the engineering faculty across all ranks. Funding from this project will be used to host a series of activities for African American women, engineering faculty, some of which include: a half-day workshop held in conjunction with the 2019 annual meeting of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE); a research study to validate and elucidate the current literature on the challenges, obstacles and facilitators of success in light of those that African American women, engineering faculty face on a daily basis; and a proposal for a subsequent two-day workshop. The workshop will provide an opportunity for one of the most underrepresented populations of engineering faculty to come together in a safe space to: discuss common challenges they experience; reflect and brainstorm strategies to aid in their success; launch a national network among African American women faculty to encourage and support their advancement in the academy and into national engineering leadership positions; and develop a mentoring network among colleagues with similar personal experiences and interests. The formation of a national network will provide a context of mentoring, role modeling, and other forms of psychosocial support that contribute to retention of underrepresented engineering faculty?something that is necessary for building the diverse technical workforce that maintains our global competitiveness and national prosperity.Broadening participation of underrepresented groups in engineering across higher education is a national priority, and the success of African American women faculty in engineering programs is essential in making progress in this area of interest. While existing literature is replete with the unique challenges to retention that this demographic faces across academic ranks, scholarship on intergenerational mentoring provides a basis for this proposed workshop that focuses on issues of retention and success among African American women engineering faculty across academic ranks. Using a convergent parallel mixed methods research design, this study will use qualitative and quantitative evidence to fully understand individual factors, environmental factors, institutional practices, procedures, and policies may adversely affect the persistence of African American women, engineering faculty. As a result of this project, workshop and subsequent research we will be armed with the necessary information to develop a consortium for African American women faculty in engineering, and a blueprint for creating an education research agenda focused on broadening participation and ensuring successful advancement of African American women faculty in engineering. This study will serve as the basis for a larger follow-up study. The insights from this study will advance multiple bodies of work simultaneously.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.