WEPAN Newsletter January 2023

Save the Date: EiSCC

The Equity in STEM Community Convening will take place June 5-7, 2023 at the Washington Duke Inn in Durham, North Carolina. Registration information is coming soon!

Events

Register today for an NIAAA Small Business Funding Webinar

Join The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and WEPAN on Tuesday, February 7, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. ET for a webinar on small business research funding to develop and commercialize treatments, technologies, and solutions for alcohol use disorder and alcohol-related problems.

At "Promoting Development of Alcohol-Related Research Through NIAAA SBIR/STTR Funding," you’ll learn about the NIAAA Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program, priority research interests, best practices for preparing a competitive application, upcoming funding opportunities, and other resources for small business grantees.

WEPAN Executive Director Ershela Sims and SBIR/STTR Program Coordinator/Clinical Program Director Megan Ryan are speakers.

Register today for the webinar on Tuesday, 2/7 at 1:00 p.m. ET: https://ogilvy.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_p5UbAjJuTsy2JrVnEvwoPw

News

ReclaimingSTEM Institute Call for Applicants for Board of Directors

ReclaimingSTEM Institute (RSI) is recruiting applicants to join their Board of Directors, welcoming candidates who want to support a new organization’s growth, mentor early career leaders, and expand RSI’s reach across STEM institutions.

An ideal board candidate must be invested in a reparative, collaborative approach to leadership and consensus processes; has 5 years of experience as nonprofit executive staff or board director; has a STEM or academic background, or tangential experience to working within STEM institutions; and has experience as a supportive mentor for early career leaders.

Read more and apply at https://www.reclaimingsteminstitute.org/getinvolved

Survey on a New Degree Proposal: STEM Intervention Design and Management

This survey is designed to collect information from stakeholders about the proposed idea of creating a graduate degree or disciplinary area for STEM Intervention Design and Management (STEM ID). This would reflect the work performed by practitioners who manage programs such as Multicultural Engineering Programs, Women in Engineering Programs and other similar interventions, typically at institutions of higher education in the US. Your input will assist the efforts to establish the first credential of this type (Master's or Doctoral level).

Keep in mind, this is not Engineering Education, which targets faculty and examines the pedagogy of engineering and how math and other STEM courses are taught. STEM Intervention Design and Management is about retaining and graduating STEM students with strategies that extend beyond the classroom setting.  

Take the 10-minute survey at: https://tinyurl.com/4xmuj6mz

Free Online Patent Education Tool, the Inventor's Patent Academy

The Inventor’s Patent Academy (TIPA) was created to help people understand IP and prepare them to apply for their own patents.  The course also explores challenges inventors may face along the way and provides practical advice to overcome those challenges. TIPA is unique because it was designed specifically for diverse inventors and features videos of diverse inventors telling their invention and patenting stories.

The course is comprised of three modules, totaling ~6h of content.  Course takers are provided with completion certificates for each module.  Although the course is designed for individual inventors, instructors and those who work with inventors can also use it as a teaching tool.  

TIPA is available for free on the Invent Together website. See more and get your inventor's journey started at: https://bit.ly/3o5tOg0

ADVANCE Midwest Partnership's Cross Institutional Mentoring Communities

Cross-Institutional Mentoring Communities (CIMCs) are part of an NSF-funded ADVANCE Partnership Initiative between Iowa State University, Michigan Technological University, North Dakota State University, and Western Michigan University.  CIMCs aim for individuals to benefit from an enhanced sense of community and belonging. The program is intended to reduce isolation and exclusion and to develop additional networks outside of the home institution.

CIMCs are designed to create networks of mentoring as a robust support mechanism for faculty with personal characteristics and/or specific identities, especially intersectional identities traditionally underrepresented in STEM (e.g., women of color, LGBTQIA+ women, differently-able women) or simultaneous demands of an academic career and family caregiving responsibilities. The communities emphasize career obstacle problem-solving during discussions every 2-3 weeks.  

Read more and join the community at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc_63kJcKp2T-cALl3mr9wH6YHbnf5ZJaUMdekiY__gh9KO9A/viewform

Report Release Webinar "Advancing Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEMM Organizations: Beyond Broadening Participation"

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is pleased to announce that the consensus study report Advancing Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEMM Organizations: Beyond Broadening Participation will be released on February 14, 2023 at 11:00 am ET.

The report will review the literature on bias and racism in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) workplaces; approaches to increase racial and ethnic diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in STEM organizations (e.g., universities, nonprofit organizations, hospitals, and industry); and offer best policies and practices for DEI and anti-racism initiatives, as well as outline goals for relevant, future research and for organizational strategic planning.

Please join Dr. Gilda Barabino and Dr. Susan Fiske, the study co-chairs, and committee members for an overview of the report and a discussion of the conclusions and recommendations.

Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/advancing-antiracism-diversity-equity-inclusion-in-stemm-organizations-tickets-519668932767

NFPA Foundation Scholarship Announcements 2023

NFPA (National Fluid Power Association) has two scholarships available to high school, tech college, and university students. Please share with your community.

Fluid Power Scholarship Application Now Available
The NFPA Education and Technology Foundation is now accepting applications for $2,000 scholarships available to students pursuing fluid power education. This scholarship is partially funded by generous donations to the Tom Wanke Legacy Fund. Multiple scholarships are available for the 2023-24 academic year. The deadline to apply is April 3, 2023, at 11:59 PM CST.

Robotics Challenge Scholarship Application Now Available
The NFPA Education and Technology Foundation is now accepting applications on for the $30,000 scholarship ($7,500 per year, for up to four years) award for a graduating high school senior participates as part of a FIRST® Robotics, National Robotics League, or VEX Robotics Competition Team and uses pneumatics in their robot. One merit-based award is available for the 2023-24 academic year. The deadline to apply is May 1, 2023, at 11:59 PM CST.

Read more and apply at: https://nfpahub.com/nfpa-foundation-scholarship-announcements-2023/

WEPAN Listserv

Do you have something to tell the WEPAN community? Remember that subscription to the WEPAN-L listserv is a member benefit! Share announcements, post publication opportunities, and collaborate with colleagues from different institutions and organizations on special projects.

To subscribe to the WEPAN-L listserv, visit: lists.purdue.edu/mailman/listinfo/wepan-l

Resources

Publications, reports, or communications relevant to women in engineering and STEM equity. All resources listed below are available in the ARC Network online resource library. If you need help accessing the library, please contact ARC Librarian Bethany Farmer at bethany@wepan.org.  

Resources on Mentoring

January is national mentoring month, and the documents below are best practices and practical guides on mentoring that can be modified and applied in other academic faculty settings. They can be found in the ARC Network library along with other similar resources by navigating to the folder titled "Best Practices & Practical Resources."

• Faculty Mentoring Best Practices | ADVANCE Program, J. Misra, 2019
• Mentoring Plan Template | ADVANCE Program,  Misra, Joya 2019
• Mentoring Guide | Miksys, Christie; Leonard, Cassandra; Gartstein, Masha A. 2022

ARC Network

Funded by the National Science Foundation ADVANCE Program, Awards HRD-2121468 and HRD-1740860, the ADVANCE Resource and Coordination (ARC) Network seeks to achieve gender equity for faculty in higher education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. WEPAN serves as the backbone organization of the ARC Network.

VVS Webinar: Intersectional Perspectives of Bystander Trainings in the Academy

Join us Feb. 23, 3pm ET for Dr. Dawn Culpepper's VVS research webinar presenting her work on focusing on intersectional perspectives of bystander trainings in the academy. Register at bit.ly/culpepperarc

The VVS program annually supports 2-4 selected scholars to complete metasyntheses and meta-analyses of existing literature on topics relevant to equity in STEM.

Dr. Dawn Culpepper, PhD (she/hers) is the Associate Director and an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Maryland’s ADVANCE Program for Inclusive Excellence. Dr. Culpepper’s research broadly examines diversity, equity, and inclusion in the academic workplace. She focuses on policies, practices, and resources that foster equity, disrupt bias, spur organizational effectiveness, and create conditions where women and BIPOC scholars can thrive. She has held leadership roles on several NSF-funded projects, including the Faculty Workloads and Rewards Project funded by NSF-ADVANCE and social science research on faculty hiring funded by NSF-AGEP. Dr. Culpepper leverages research to inform practice, leading faculty development and educational initiatives across UMD’s campus.

Join WEPAN

Want to encourage your institution to deepen its commitment to equity and excellence?

Consider becoming a 30 for 30 Institutional Champion Member. At this membership level, institutions have unlimited member representatives who get to dive into critical diversity, equity, and inclusion issues through custom workshops. These members also get the opportunity to strengthen their inclusive leadership capacity as part of the Equity and Excellence Council. Additional 30 for 30 Institutional Champion member benefits include:

• Professional Development
• Decades of resources in the WEPAN Knowledge Center
• Professional development webinars, including one featuring an invited speaker from your institution
• Free and discounted workshops, including one customized for your institution
• Free and discounted access to WEPAN’s Program Days
• Three annual convening registrations
• Communication & Networking
• WEPAN-L listserv
• Slack
• WEPAN member directory
• Social media spotlights of your institution
• Workforce
• Free and discounted job postings for your institution in WEPAN’s Career Center

Specific details regarding the member benefits listed above, please review the 30 for 30 Institutional Champion onboarding guide. For more information on how to become a 30 for 30 Institutional Member, please email membership@wepan.org.

Get Involved

Committees

We are looking for visionary members to join our committees and influence programming and member experiences. If you are interested in being a member of a WEPAN committee, please complete this survey: https://forms.gle/ZQyijAGNtPYYtNTV9

WIEP Slack Channel

WEPAN has launched a new channel for Women in Engineering Program staff, #women-in-engineering-programs. The channel is designed for members to share news, ask questions, and network with their peers from other institutions, and post discussion topics for the lunch and learn webinars.

Please join us on Slack to drive that connectivity across our membership during a critical time for connection. Join our Slack community today!

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