Broadening Participation in STEM

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。拉美裔美国人是美国增长最快的人口之一，但在工程学领域的代表性最低。该项目旨在解决阻碍拉美裔美国人在包括社会/家庭、教育和职业化系统在内的整个工程职业生涯中参与和提高工程的系统性不平等问题。扩大URM在工程领域的参与符合加强美国STEM劳动力和全球竞争力的国家利益。作为美国第二大拉美裔服务机构(HSI)，工程股权中心(CEE)在增加拉美裔在工程劳动力中的参与度方面具有独特的地位。首先，该项目将扩大渠道，为拉美裔学生及其家庭提供早期接触到与文化相关的榜样和工程内容的机会。这一目标将通过诸如Familia Engage、高中女生暑期工程夏令营和教师与辅导员论坛等项目来实现。其次，该项目将创造一种包容性的大学体验，通过课程改革和对教职员工和学生的培训来促进学生的成功，其中一些培训将由学生自己共同领导。第三，该项目将创造更深层次的专业/职业、领导力和研究发展机会。该团队通过与专业协会和雇主的联系，努力提高我们的学生在工程工作中的就业率。预期其他机构将从增加工程学毕业生人数的战略中学习，并利用理论框架为课程和政策变化提供信息。工程公平中心：参与、教育、丰富(CEE-E3)的目标是提高西班牙裔学生在工程高等教育中的入学率、保留率和升学率。我们的愿景是成为西班牙裔和其他URM学生，特别是拉丁裔学生在工程职业生涯中包容、专业准备和成功的全国典范。CEE-E3包括三个重点领域(与上面概述的三个目标一致)：1)K-12外联(接洽)；2)教育与培训(Education)；3)专业与研究经验(ENRICH)。根据加西亚的“服务”模式，该项目将关注学生的学术和非学术成果。该项目将在双文化主义、与文化相关的教育学和社区文化财富的框架下，介绍和探索拉美裔文化价值观，因为它们与科学和工程教学的规范和工程劳动力的职业化有关。该项目将使用混合方法，记录和探索学生的自我效能感和韧性，以及学生和他们的家庭在职业生涯中接触到榜样的情况。该项目将利用与主要大学、工程专业学会、社区学院、K-12系统、非营利组织、工程雇主和校友的董事会伙伴关系。它将通过R1-机构合作扩大URTGV的学生教育机会，创建学生参与拉美裔美国人研究体验联盟(ASPIRE拉美裔美国人)。项目团队将通过专业社会合作伙伴向学生介绍榜样、职业网络以及持续的个人和职业发展。最后，通过全国工程教育公平峰会，该项目将与服务于拉美裔人口的机构分享有前途的做法，以便它们能够在本国校园复制或改编最佳做法。该奖项反映了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。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Hispanics represent one of the fastest growing populations in the US, yet one of the least represented in engineering. This project aims to address the systemic inequities that hinder the participation and advancement of Hispanics in engineering along the engineering career continuum, including the social/family, education and professionalization systems. Broadening the participation of URMs in engineering serves the national interest of strengthening America’s STEM workforce and global competitiveness. As the nation’s second largest Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), the Center for Equity in Engineering (CEE) is uniquely positioned to increase the participation of Hispanics in the engineering workforce. First, the project will expand the pipeline by providing Hispanic students and their families with early exposure to culturally relevant role models and engineering content. This objective will be accomplished through programs like Familia Engage, summer engineering camps for high school girls, and a teachers & counselors forum. Second, the project will create an inclusive collegiate experience that promotes students’ success through curricular reform and trainings for faculty and students, some to be co-led by students themselves. Third, the project will create deeper professional/career, leadership, and research development opportunities. The team strives to increase the placement rates of our students in the engineering workforce through connections with professional associations and employers. It is the expectation that other institutions will learn from the strategies to increase the number of engineering graduates and use of theoretical frameworks to inform curricula and policy changes. The GOAL of the Center for Equity in Engineering: Engage, Educate, Enrich (CEE-E3) is to increase enrollment, retention, and advancement rates of Hispanic students in engineering higher education. The vision is to be a national model for inclusion, professional preparation, and success of Hispanic and other URM students, particularly Latinas, in engineering careers. The CEE-E3 encompasses three focus areas (in line with the three objectives outlines above): 1) K-12 Outreach (ENGAGE); 2) Education & Training (EDUCATE) and 3) Professional & Research Experiences (ENRICH). The project will focus on both academic and non-academic outcomes for students, as informed by the Garcia’s “Servingness” model. Drawing on the frameworks of biculturalism, culturally relevant pedagogy, and community cultural wealth, the project will introduce and explore Hispanic cultural values as they relate the norms of science & engineering teaching and to the professionalization of the engineering workforce. Using mixed methods, the project will document and explore students’ self-efficacy and resiliency, as well as students’ and their families’ exposure to role models along the career pipeline. The project will leverage a board partnership with major universities, engineering professional societies, community colleges, K-12 systems, non-profits, engineering employers and alumni. It will expand URTGV’s student educational opportunities through an R1-institution collaboration to create the Alliance for Student Participation in Research Experiences for Hispanics (ASPIRE Hispanics). The project team will introduce students to role models, professional networks, and ongoing personal and career development through professional society partners. Finally, through the national Equity in Engineering Education Summit, the project will share promising practices with institutions serving Hispanic populations so that they can replicate or adapt the best practices at their home campuses.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.