Developing Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives and Measuring the Effects of a Pandemic in a Civil and Environmental Engineering Department

ABSTRACT

The Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department at Midsized Northeastern University was awarded The National Science Foundation's Revolutionizing Engineering and computer science Departments (RED) grant in 2016 with the hopes of allowing engineering programs to improve the inclusion of minorities over the course of five years. The CEE Department used this opportunity to create a research group called Revolutionizing Engineering Diversity (RevED) that focuses on all underrepresented and underserved groups. The researchers used the grant to help change admissions as well as incorporate inclusive pedagogical practices. Currently, RevED is in the fifth year of the grant and has since spread out to utilize the Engineering Education Department and the Faculty Development Center to help broaden the impact of the grant to other students outside of the CEE Department. The RevED researchers were successful in helping develop a certification program for faculty and staff members to participate in. While there have been positive developments, the research group had to look at the effects of COVID-19 on the lives of students. RevED has utilized data regarding the impacts of the pandemic and will be looking to further develop insight on student experiences. While the poster will feature information on the changing student demographics and student perception of the climate of diversity, the impact of the pandemic will also be shown to see how students are affected and how to better address the needs of underrepresented and underserved students. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021