This online program was presented June 8, 2020 at 7:00PM CDT in partnership with Sigma Xi. Despite efforts to diversify the academic pipeline, persistence of underrepresented and minoritized African American, Latinx, and Native American/Pacific Islander students in STEM undergraduate & PhD programs continues to be a challenge. The often-discordant cultures and practices of academic institutions, particularly historically white colleges and universities (HWCU), negatively impact opportunities for these high-achieving STEM students to thrive. Experiences of negative biases, micro-aggressions, or benign indifference can compromise student success in ways that replicate inequities found in society. For decades, countless programs and initiatives have focused on addressing student deficits with marginal impact. This talk will refocus our attention on the pivotal and often invisible roles that academic institutions, STEM disciplines, and faculty-communities play in contributing to inequitable student outcomes. Our discussion will render the invisible visible by examining institutional, STEM-discipline, and faculty-community biases inherent in academic and STEM cultures, practices, and policies. The talk will conclude with thoughts on how faculty and departments may ensure equitable and impactful academic experiences for high-achieving yet marginalized students. The Speaker: Dr. Robbin Chapman is Associate Dean of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at the Harvard Kennedy School, and Adjunct Associate Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania. She previously served as Associate Provost and Academic Director of Diversity and Inclusion, and Lecturer in Education at Wellesley College, and Assistant Associate Provost for Faculty Equity at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Chapman earned her SM and PhD degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she conducted research at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the MIT Media Laboratory. She earned her BS in computer science at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. Her research interests include design and use of computational tools for learning in public spaces, and frameworks and technologies for supporting scholar activism. Dr. Chapman is serving a two-year term (2018-2020) as Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer, appointed by the Sigma Xi International Honor Society of Science and Engineering.

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