Radford University
Inclusion
REALISE is a project funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Inclusive Excellence program to drive institutional change at Radford University to reduce barriers to student success in the sciences. We started with Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, and having demonstrated some promise, the university used REALISE as launching point for a campus-wide inclusion initiative – which was more than we really ever hoped to achieve when writing that first proposal.
SPLINE - STEMed Project Leaders Inclusivity Network
Diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts require all of us to participate, even those without a lot of training or expertise in these topics per se. Many people, myself included, found themselves leading inclusion initiatives that were well-meaning, but also feeling that old familiar friend of “imposter syndrome” nipping at the door. SPLINE (spell out) brought together leaders of science inclusion initiatives to study, discuss, and learn from and with each other, and with experts in DEI offering cutting-edge evidence and best practices. It was exciting to be a part in a “multiplicative” project – where things we did in a group of 12 or 15 might eventually reach 100s of faculty, and 1000s of students.
SPLINE was a product of the QUBES project, supported by NSF Awards 1446269, 1446284, 1446258.
RCN-UBE Incubator: Network for an Open and Accessible Biology Education: The promise of equity and the challenge of sustainability
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A challenge faced by many STEM education projects is sustainability, continuing a living project beyond initial innovation funding. Open Education Resources (OER) are free and openly licensed educational resources and can reduce a barrier for students. OER projects usually attempt sustainability by connecting to institutional resources such as libraries
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This research coordination network took a collaborative approach to equity and inclusion in undergraduate STEM Education by creating a cross-sector library, institution, professional society, education research, and funders network to support an inclusive, just, and sustainable open education. The SCORE Network grew to include 72 leaders representing 70+ organizations and institutions. In 2021, SCORE launched a rebranding into the RIOS Institute, thanks to collaborative funding from the Hewlett Foundation. The RCN led to a conference, virtual showcases, and multiple virtual learning communities and working groups.
Supported by NSF Award 1919879.