Session G04: Improving the Department Climate for Inclusivity (Followed by Panel Discussion)

Making Graduate Programs more inclusive: An AGEP Pilot in Physics

Physics is among the least diverse disciplines in higher education, despite recent incremental advancements toward greater diversity. For example, 50% fewer physics PhDs were awarded to African American/Black physicists in 2019 than in 2012. Past efforts at improving diversity centered on fixing the student by focusing on student academic preparation or psychosocial elements, such as motivation and self-efficacy. While such efforts are successful at supporting a small number of students, research demonstrates that the climate of physics graduate education hasn't changed and is a significant barrier. In this talk, we introduce a new NSF project, Inclusive Graduate Programs: An AGEP Pilot in Physics & Astronomy. In this project, we shift the focus from the student to the program climate and culture, centering program practices/policies and mindsets/values of institutional actors that create barriers to equity and inclusion. A cohort of 16 R1 physics programs has committed to engaging in deep and systemic change through this project to transform their programs into creating and sustaining a welcoming and supportive environment for historically excluded groups. In this presentation, we will describe the goals and structure of the project as well as our plans to document the impacts on these 16 physics graduate programs.   

Improving the Department Climate for Inclusivity

The APS Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Alliance (APS-IDEA) is an international virtual network of 60+ teams from physics departments, research collaborations, and national labs, working toward improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in physics. Launched in 2020, the mission of the APS-IDEA is to empower teams to make profound and permanent changes to the culture of physics in their local environments, through establishment of a community of transformation. The network is designed around a set of guiding principles to aid in achieving our mission: 1) Sharing leadership, 2) Centering marginalized voices, 3) Utilizing sensemaking, and 4) Implementing research-based methods. Through virtual network meetings and small-group learning communities, network members learn about foundational ideas in organizational change, including bias, power dynamics, documentation, and strategic planning.   

Using the DAT/DALI Model for Inclusive Program Change at a Primarily Undergraduate HSI

The Departmental Action Teams/Leadership Institute (DAT/DALI) model provides a data-driven approach to program change based in the principles of EP3.  At all stages of the DAT’s work, there is an emphasis on inclusion, shared vision, and consensus.  One aspect of the DAT model that differs significantly from typical departmental committees is the inclusion of stakeholders beyond the program faculty.  In particular, student involvement in the change process is not only welcome, but critical.   Using the tools introduced during the DALI, DAT facilitators work to make all stakeholders comfortable in contributing to the change process.  In addition, there is a strong emphasis on institutionalizing and assessing the completed actions of the DAT so that they become a permanent part of program culture. This model was an excellent fit for the Rhode Island College Physics program.  Since RIC serves many underrepresented minority students, the physics program used the DALI/DAT experience to revise the curriculum to be more welcoming to students from underserved high schools who may not have had the opportunity to take physics or calculus.  The department has also used aspects of the DAT model to improve student recruitment and engagement.  Student input into all these changes has been essential and has changed the vision of the physics program.