Belonging and Equity Experimental (BEE) Lab: CURRENT PROJECTS
Motivation- Systemic barriers and reported gender disparities in higher-ed leading to high attrition of women faculty.
Hypothesis: PI Gupta's heat transfer research demonstrates high efficiency processes and thermal performance by heterogenous interfaces such as copper/nickel, copper/graphene, polymer/carbon nanomaterial, particle/fibers, particle/sheets. This is attributed to the unique properties and characteristics of each material or shape present in the heterogenous surface.
Similarly, she envisions that heterogenous groups will perform better due to the unique abilities and experiences of each team member.
Through Dr. Gupta’s scholarly pursuits in her BEE Lab, she is creating evidence-based a) assessment on equitable practice by combining qualitative and quantitative approaches (funded by NSF ADVANCE Catalyst) , and b) engagement practices for allyship and advocacy.
Project 1: Data Collection and Assessment
Data Collection- The team will adopt a convenient, and portable mobile web-based survey tool that can be operated on smaller devices for higher and timely participation. The web page will also record view rates vs participation rates. The design aspects will determine scrolling vs paging format depending on the number of questions with a focus on visually appealing page design. The question composition aspects will include- use of time frames to prevent recall bias, avoiding words that may lead to bias, and negative questions. Validity tests will be performed on the surveys before their deployment by measuring a) how each question addresses its intended purpose, b) answer consistency, c) consistent interpretation based on rating scales, d) reliability through a pilot study questionnaire.
Data and Project Assessment- The outcome and evaluation will have formative and summative components. The formative surveys will be central to ADVANCE-UToledo goals. Summative evaluation will be performed by external evaluator who will examine if the program goals have been met through identification of current barrier and biases, policies and practices that require change, and measures to increase male faculty and female administrator advocacy.
The overall evaluation will center on-
a) Implementation- how and when the self-study surveys are being implemented
b) Outcome- results of the surveys highlighting the responses that will aid in shaping up the policies and procedures to achieve goals 1-5
c) Impact- the broader implications of the proposed self-study beyond the survey design, participation, and reporting will also be considered. For instance, has this study helped to identify the barriers and biases faced by women STEM faculty in various departments; are there inequities between women STEM faculty across the colleges; have women administrators, human resources and male faculty been made aware of these inequities and lack of support at all levels of onboarding and promoting women STEM faculty?
d) Sustainability- one of the aims of this project is to contribute directly to the immediate belonging and equity needs of UToledo and its surrounding ecosystem (faculty, staff, students and community) in the long-term. Does this self-study model benefit local community and partnerships?
Project 2: BEE Ally and Advocate training
PI Gupta is creating Allyship training materials and workshops centered on for UToledo and broader community. The end goal is to create two advocacy programs: HeforShe for male faculty/peers, and SheforShe for women administrators for equity in research, teaching, and service infrastructure for the professional development and retention of women STEM faculty.
The training elements center on Roles and Action for faculty, staff, and administrator to BEE:
• Authentic and Active (Action)
• Sponsor, Champion, Scholar, Ambassador, Amplifier, Upstander (Roles)
