Building LGBTQ-inclusive Chemical Engineering Classrooms and Departments

Authors

  • Anthony Butterfield Assistant Professor (Lecturer) Department of Chemical Engineering University of Utah Joseph F. Merrill Engineering Building 50 South Central Campus Drive, Room 3290 Salt Lake City, UT, 84112
  • Alon McCormick Professor, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science University of Minnesota 421 Washington Ave. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0132
  • Stephanie Farrell Professor and Chair, Experiential Engineering Education Rowan University 201 Mullica Hill Road Glassboro, NJ 08028-1701

Keywords:

Diversity Concerns, Inclusivity, Sexual Orientation, Gender

Abstract

Despite recent advances in LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) equality in the United States and in many countries around the globe, LGBTQ+ students on college campuses still experience bias, hostility and discrimination.  Engineering departments on campus in particular have been slower than other departments to respond to efforts to effect a positive change for LGBTQ+ individuals [1, 2].  Researchers and practitioners began working together in 2015 to advance LGBTQ+ inclusion in engineering classrooms and workplaces.  This paper presents research-informed promising practices for creating LGBTQ+-inclusive climate in engineering departments.  The specific focus is on strategies that can be adopted by individual faculty members to support LGBTQ+ inclusion for engineering students in academic spaces. 

Author Biographies

Anthony Butterfield, Assistant Professor (Lecturer) Department of Chemical Engineering University of Utah Joseph F. Merrill Engineering Building 50 South Central Campus Drive, Room 3290 Salt Lake City, UT, 84112

Dr. Anthony Butterfield is an Associate Professor (Lecturing) at the University of Utah. His research interests center around STEM community outreach and citizen scientist efforts, project base learning, particularly as applied to first year students, and retention of underrepresented groups. He has been awarded the GLBT Educator Award from NOGLSTP and AIChE’s 2017 Award for Innovation in Chemical Engineering Education.  He is also the founding faculty advisor of University of Utah’s oSTEM chapter.

Alon McCormick, Professor, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science University of Minnesota 421 Washington Ave. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0132

Dr. Alon McCormick has taught in the Chemical Engineering and Materials Science department at the University of Minnesota since 1989; his PhD and postdoc experience were at UC Berkeley, and his undergraduate degree was at Tulane University.  With students and collaborators, his research addresses mechanisms and kinetics of various materials assembly and nano- and micro-structural processes.  His professional service includes serving currently as secretary of the AIChE Education and Accreditation Committee, having served recently as chair of the AIChE Technology Operating Council, and many other committees at AIChE and at Minnesota.  His contributions to efforts to foster a more inclusive climate in engineering include participation in the 2015 AIChE Diversity Task Force and in the current ASEE Leadership Virtual Community of Practice, "Promoting LGBTQ Equality in STEM".

Stephanie Farrell, Professor and Chair, Experiential Engineering Education Rowan University 201 Mullica Hill Road Glassboro, NJ 08028-1701

Dr. Stephanie Farrell is Professor and Founding Chair of the Department of Experiential Engineering Education at Rowan University (USA) and the 2017-18 President-Elect of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE).  She was also the 2016-2017 Chair of the ASEE Diversity Committee. Her research interests also include inductive teaching in engineering pedagogy, spatial visualization skills, and increasing participation of underserved and underrepresented groups in engineering.  Stephanie was the 2014-2015 Fulbright Scholar in Engineering Education at Dublin Institute of Technology (Ireland).  She has been honored by the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) with several teaching awards such as the National Outstanding Teaching Medal and the Quinn Award for experiential learning.  She is the founding faculty advisor of Rowan’s oSTEM Chapter and PI on the NSF Project “A Virtual Community of Practice for Promoting LGBTQ Equality in Engineering”.

Downloads

Published

2018-03-28

Issue

Vol. 52 No. 2 (2018): Spring 2018

Section

Manuscripts