The virtual Aspire Summer Institute (ASI) will provide STEM campus leadership and faculty developers (at Centers for Teaching & Learning, STEM Education Centers, or similar entities) with the opportunity to retreat, reflect and act to better support campus diversity, equity and inclusion efforts through the development of key skills applicable across faculty roles. Institutional teams of participants will be supported in growing their institutional capacity for this work, through gaining skills as change agents and applying and adapting their learning to enhance existing campus-level DEI initiatives. Teams are invited to continue to engage with one another through a virtual Community of Practice following the ASI. This no-cost virtual institute is sponsored by the NSF INCLUDES Aspire Alliance.
Inclusive Professional Framework for Faculty
The Aspire Summer Institute (ASI) will use a framework that engages faculty and faculty developers in the development of an equity mindset. Using Aspire's literature-based Inclusive Professional Framework for Faculty (IPF: Faculty), participants will engage with diversity scholars and thought leaders in exploring identity, intercultural and relational skills that can be applied to various professional contexts (e.g., teaching, research mentoring, advising, collegiality and leadership). These skills contribute to increased success of URG students and inclusive climates within the institution.
The ASI will take place from Monday, June 13th, 2022 to Friday, June 17th, 2022. Each day will include synchronous online sessions from roughly 11:30-5:30 PM ET / 10:30 AM-4:30 PM CT / 9:30 AM-3:30 PM MT / 8:30 AM-2:30 PM PT, with breaks between activities.
What will you do and learn?
Participants of the Aspire Summer Institute (ASI) can expect to explore the Inclusive Professional Framework for Faculty by engaging in a mix of expert presentations, discussions, case-based scenarios, role plays, as well as individual and group reflection. Participants will explore connections to institutional diversity and inclusion programs (e.g., Aspire IChange, past ASI participants). Finishing the week, participants will have developed personal and campus-level action plans, with access to a collection of resources contributed by institute facilitators and participants, and the opportunity to engage with an ongoing Community of Practice.
Learning Outcomes and Facilitators and Planning Team for the Aspire Summer Institute
Who should attend?
The Aspire Summer Institute is designed for participants who are interested in learning how to further incorporate inclusive practices in their work and in being change agents leading efforts to create a more inclusive institutional climate. The curriculum is applicable to both campus leadership and faculty developers, as it explores how to build institutional capacity based on your roles and spheres of influence. Participants should have an existing value of appreciating difference and an understanding that embracing diversity leads to better outcomes. We will be accepting applications from Aspire IChange institutions, as these teams will be well situated to consider how to incorporate what they have learned at the institute locally. Ideally teams will be comprised of 4-5 individuals, although we'd consider teams of anywhere between 3-6 individuals. There is no cost associated with participating in the institute; the Aspire Alliance will cover the costs associated with access to the expert facilitators and resources.
The Aspire Summer Institute Community of Practice (ASI CoP)
A week of intense professional development, while an important element for individual and institutional change, on its own is not sufficient. Following the ASI, participants are invited to join Aspire’s monthly ASI CoP. Participants from the 2022 ASI will join 2020 and 2021 ASI participants to explore topics of interest in greater depth, share successes and challenges associated with implementing their action plans, and crowd-source resources and solutions to support their local diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. ASI CoP meetings are an opportunity to learn with and from one another, share resources and to learn from experts.
How are we defining STEM?
We are defining STEM fields as those including mathematics, natural sciences, engineering, computer and information sciences, and the social and behavioral sciences – psychology, economics, sociology, and political science.