Expanding The Capacity Of The Center for Infrastructure Transformation and Education Through Integrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into Infrastructure Education

该项目旨在通过扩大基础设施改造与教育中心（CIT-E）的能力，支持土木、建筑和环境工程学院的教职员工努力将多样性、公平和包容性（DEI）融入基础设施教育，从而为国家利益服务。造成基础设施不平等的原因有很多；然而，鉴于其在基础设施相关教育和研究中的主导作用，土木与环境工程（CEE）学院有义务认识到并解决系统变革的需求。从历史上看，中东欧教师没有接受过关于DEI问题的正式培训。虽然这类培训正变得越来越普遍，但差距仍然存在。这个一级能力建设项目将支持CIT-E，一个现有的、蓬勃发展的实践社区（CoP），为未来开展多机构合作的工作奠定基础，将CEE教育社区转变为一个能够维持DEI整合增长的社区。这个合作研究项目是由威斯康星大学、普拉特维尔大学、拉斐特学院、科罗拉多州立大学、弗吉尼亚理工学院和州立大学共同努力的。随着这一扩大的网络所产生的能力的增加和共同愿景的实现，CIT-E缔约方会议的工作将具有变革性。利用CIT-E和CoP，该项目通过两个连续的视角来构建工作框架：种族中立/种族意识和包容基础设施/排斥基础设施。该项目将促进i) CIT-E对DEI和基础设施之间关系的共同理解；ii)成员之间的互动揭示了DEI的哪些方面；缔约方会议成员如何通过在教育、研究和专业实践中解决DEI问题来相互教育；四)缔约方会议如何能够激发真正和持久的变革。具体而言，该项目将通过以下项目目标提高CIT-E的能力：i)通过编制一份对DEI产生积极影响的成功机构努力的非规范性例子清单来收集证据；ii)通过资产映射评估CIT-E资源和需求；iii)评估实践共同体作为一种合适的变革理论；iv)根据先前项目目标中确定的差距，招募更多的利益相关者和组织加入CIT-E；v)使用群体概念映射（GCM）识别、分类和优先考虑将DEI整合到CEE教育中的方法；（六）为发展多机构合作的努力提供基础，将CEE教育社区转变为一个能够维持DEI整合增长的社区。研究小组将确保邀请主要利益相关者，包括变革理论、DEI策略和课程开发方面的专家，对项目进行外部同行评审。研究小组将促进工作会议，以解决更大的任务，如GCM和资产映射。通过与社会科学研究所（IRISS）的合作，该项目将i)通过加速团队整合，建立地理分散的研究团队的能力，使其成为一个高效的团队；ii)探索团队科学如何为扩大工作的努力增加价值。NSF IUSE: EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。通过机构和社区转型轨道，该计划支持高等教育机构和学科社区的STEM教育转型和改善。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest by expanding the capacity of the Center for Infrastructure Transformation and Education (CIT-E) to support civil, construction, and environmental engineering faculty members in their efforts to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into infrastructure education. The causes of inequitable infrastructure are many; however, given its leading role in infrastructure-related education and research, the civil and environmental engineering (CEE) faculty has an obligation to recognize and address the need for systemic change. Historically, CEE faculty members have not received formal training on DEI issues. While such training is becoming more common, a gap remains. This Level 1 Capacity Building project will support CIT-E, an existing and thriving community of practice (CoP), through providing the foundation for future work in developing a multi-institutional effort to transform the CEE education community into a community that can sustain growth in DEI integration. The collaborative research project is a joint effort by the University of Wisconsin, Platteville, Lafayette College, Colorado State University, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.With the increased capacity generated by this expanded network and a shared vision, the CIT-E CoP work will be transformative. Leveraging the CIT-E and the CoP, the project frames the work through the lens of two continua: race neutral/race conscious and inclusion infrastructure/exclusion infrastructure. This project will develop i) CIT-E communal understanding of how DEI and infrastructure are related; ii) what the interaction among members reveals about DEI; iii) how members of the CoP can educate one another by addressing DEI issues in education, research, and professional practice; and iv) how the CoP can inspire real and lasting change. Specifically, this project will increase the capacity of CIT-E through the following project objectives: i) gather evidence by compiling a list of non-normative examples of successful institutional efforts that positively impact DEI; ii) assess CIT-E resources and needs via Asset Mapping; iii) evaluate Community of Practice as an appropriate Change Theory; iv) recruit additional stakeholders and organizations to CIT-E based on the gaps identified in previous project objectives; v) identify, cluster, and prioritize ways of integrating DEI into CEE education using Group Concept Mapping (GCM); and vi) provide the foundation for developing a multi-institutional effort to transform the CEE education community into a community that can sustain growth in DEI integration. The Research Team will ensure that key stakeholders, including experts in Change Theory, DEI strategies, and curriculum development are invited to provide external peer review of the project. The Research Team will facilitate working sessions to address larger tasks such as GCM and Asset Mapping. Through a collaboration with the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (IRISS), the project will i) build the capacity of the geographically-dispersed Research Team by accelerating the team’s integration to operate as a highly-functioning team and ii) explore how Team Science might add value to efforts to expand the work. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Institutional and Community Transformation track, the program supports efforts to transform and improve STEM education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities.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.