Michigan Engineering DEI Lecture Series

These events sponsored throughout the year cover a variety of topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Thought leaders present data, perspective and context to issues surrounding DEI in academia and beyond. 


Building Allyship Toward a Gender-Inclusive Campus Community

Presented by Nicholas Henriksen, Associate Professor (Romance Languages and Literatures & Linguistics, LSA) and ADVANCE Faculty Fellow. During this lecture, Nicholas Henriksen will examine cisgenderism within the U-M community and present national and institutional data that will serve as a call to action to advocate for a more gender-inclusive campus.  This lecture will also explore…

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Sexual Harassment in the Academy: From Science to Solutions

Presented by Lilia Cortina, Ph.D., University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor of Psychology, Women’s and Gender Studies, and Management and Organizations at the University of Michigan. Academia should lead and inspire change in other industries. Instead, we have the highest rate of sexual harassment outside the military. But what does sexual harassment mean? What actions…

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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): An Entrepreneur’s View

Presented by David Tarver, a lecturer in the Michigan Engineering Center for Entrepreneurship and founder and board president of the Urban Entrepreneurship Initiative. Examining corporate and academic circles’ views on DEI efforts, David Tarver will share his perspective as he’s witnessed the evolution of DEI up close and personal as a tech entrepreneur.In this lecture,…

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The State of Science and the need for STEM Advocacy

Presented by Dr. Jayshree Seth, a Corporate Scientist at 3M working on development of sustainable industrial products. The future success of businesses, economies, and humanity hinges on the continued advancement of science, and the development of sustainable innovations. This, in turn, is dependent on the inclusion of diverse perspectives inside our organizations and in our…

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Truth Be Told, DEI Needs to D-I-E

Presented by Dr. James Holly, Jr., Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and core faculty member within the Engineering Education Research program at the University of Michigan. In the field of engineering, the rhetoric regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion has operated to advance progress without changing underlying factors that continue to perpetuate inequities within engineering. During…

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Ready, Set, Action: Improving Equity & Inclusion in Our Departments

Presented by Amy Moreno Sherwood, M.Ed., Director of The Broadening Opportunities through Leadership and Diversity (BOLD) Center within the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. Amy Moreno Sherwood will provide various practices and reflection exercises that encourage students, staff and faculty to be active DEI champions.Drawing from Michigan Engineering’s…

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Enhancing LGBTQ+ Inclusive Campus Climate: A discussion of impactful practices

Presented by Will Sherry (he/him/his), Director of Spectrum Center, U-M. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in May, the University of Michigan Spectrum Center was established in 1971 as the first center in higher education to support LGBTQ+ students on campus. In this session, the Center’s director, Will Sherry, will examine impactful practices at individual, community, and…

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My Journey to QuantCrit: How the Scientist Met The Fugitive In The Borderlands

Presented by U-M postdoctoral fellow Paulette Vincent-Ruz, Chemistry Education at the University of Michigan, LSA. Why do we study how to become better educators? Historically, the methods used to do this research can perpetuate racial bias. As such, research produced by these faulty methods fails to provide insight that could dismantle unjust systems in STEM…

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Disabusing Disability: Demonstrating That DISability Doesn’t Mean Inability

Presented by U-M Professor Oluwaferanmi Okanlami MD, MS Disability is regularly neglected in conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion, yet it is the one demographic that we may all identify with one day. Disability should serve as a means of demonstrating that we are all much more similar than we are different.  As a disabled,…

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Whole Health and You

Presented by Dr. Zinobia Bennefield, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of North Carolina – Charlotte. How do we maintain good mental health in the face of a global pandemic, climate change, political unrest, and economic insecurity? Dr. Bennefield suggests that the answer is a Whole Health strategy. Whole Health…

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Listening with the Intent to Engage: A Panel on Anti-Asian Racism

Moderated by U-M Professor Melissa Borja. Panelists include Heeryung Choi, Heeryung Choi, a Ph.D. student in the School of Information Science, Fatema Haque, Academic Program Manager & LEO Adjunct Lecturer in Barger Leadership Institute, Ian Shin, Assistant Professor of History and American Culture and core faculty member in Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies, and Marie Ting,…

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Stereotyping, Implicit Bias, and the Experiences of Women and Underrepresented Minorities in STEM

Presented by U-M Professor Denise Sekaquaptewa. Learning to recognize and prevent our bias from having negative impacts is a lifelong practice. Stereotype threat is the risk of confirming negative stereotypes about an individual’s racial, ethnic, gender, or cultural group, which can create a high cognitive load and reduce academic focus and performance. Experimental research on…

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More Lecture recordings for U-M affiliates can be found in our Lecture Capture Library. Login with a U-M uniqname is required to access this library.

Contact

Sara A. Pozzi, Ph. D.

DEI Lecture Series Lead

University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor

Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences and Professor of Physics

Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

pozzisa@umich.edu

Michelle French

Michelle French

DEI Lecture Series Staff Support

Program Coordinator, Office of Culture, Community and Equity (OCCE)

mpate@umich.edu