New Research on Investments in DEI in STEM Education

Higher Ed Insight (HEI), with our colleague Julie Posselt, PhD, associate dean of the Graduate School at the University of Southern California, is pleased to announce the release of two research studies, commissioned by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (Sloan):

•𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘌𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘔 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 (𝘣𝘺 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘌𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵)
•𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘌𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘜.𝘚. 𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘔 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘈 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 (𝘣𝘺 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭., 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘗𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯)

We invite you to access the reports HERE.

Both reports reflect the need for the philanthropic and higher education communities to ask hard questions about their approaches to diversity, equity, inclusion, and related issues in STEM higher education.

As national conversation advances in this area, and as funders and institutions of higher education seek to deepen their impact, research and evidence-backed inputs are more essential than ever in determining best practices and investments at the individual, programmatic, and systemic levels.

Our own Tashera Gale, HEI Director of Evaluation Services, and Lorelle Espinosa, Sloan Program Director, co-authored an opinion essay drawing from this new research, exploring “how philanthropy has fallen short in its effort to make STEM more diverse” on Inside Philanthropy.

Also pulling from the research, Dr. Espinosa and Dr. Posselt of USC reflected that “To Achieve Equity, STEM Needs Systems Change” (Diverse: Issues in Higher Education).

Additionally, Liann Herder, staff writer at Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, also wrote about the studies in a piece titled, “Sloan Foundation Reports Reveal Individual, Not Systemic Changes in STEM Research and Funding.”

We expect the new reports to provide the foundation for an ongoing conversation. If you’d like to share some thoughts or ask us any questions, please CONTACT US.