WEPAN Announces Virtual Visiting Scholars Dedicated to Researching STEM Equity

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Ashley Garcia
ARC Network
Marketing and Communications Manager
garcia@equityinstem.org

WEPAN Announces Virtual Visiting Scholars Dedicated to Researching STEM Equity
The Fifth Cohort of Researchers to Fuel Investigations for ARC Network

WASHINGTON DC, August 11, 2022 – The leading champion in North America to propel the inclusion of women in the field of engineering, the Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN) announces Sue Rosser, PhD and Erin Winterowd, PhD as Virtual Visiting Scholars (VVS) for the ADVANCE Resource and Coordination (ARC) Network.

Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE Program, Awards HRD-2121468 and HRD-1740860, the ARC Network seeks to achieve gender equity for faculty in higher education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. As the STEM equity brain trust, the ARC Network recognizes the achievements made so far while producing new perspectives, methods and interventions with an intersectional, intentional and inclusive lens. WEPAN serves as the backbone organization of the ARC Network.

The VVS program provides a unique opportunity for select scholars across disciplines to pursue research meta-analysis, synthesis, and big data curation on topics crucial to STEM faculty equity. Scholars analyze existing research and data, synthesizing different, sometimes competing, perspectives, frameworks, metrics, and outcomes to offer new insights and applications to the broader community. Past VVS have explored various topics, including funding trends, mentoring, citation practices, and networking.

ARC Network Project Director Virginia Rhodes commented on the scope of the VVS program. “Research is integral to understanding the past and the future of STEM faculty equity. Our scholars immerse themselves in exploring not only what we currently know about STEM equity in academia, but how to push the limits of that knowledge and discover new ways to contribute to the conversation. The program has a strong history of dedicated individuals working to advance gender equity for faculty, and we’re excited to welcome our fifth cohort to join that tradition.”

Dr. Sue Rosser is Provost Emerita at San Francisco State University, after serving as the Special Advisor for Research Development and External Partnerships for Academic and Student Affairs at the Chancellor’s Office of the California State University System and as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at San Francisco State University. Her research focuses on theoretical and applied aspects of women, science, health and technology, and she has authored over 140 journal articles and 14 books, and has held several grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), including serving as co-PI on a $3.7 million ADVANCE grant. As a VVS, Dr. Rosser will conduct a review of extant qualitative literature on foreign born/foreign trained faculty using intersectional lenses of gender and of race/ethnicity, information that can be used to determine policies and practices tailored to better enhance inclusion, career success, and retention.

Dr. Erin Winterrowd is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Regis University. Dr. Winterrowd’s research focuses on access and inequity in academic STEM, with studies grounded in local women’s experiences. She is particularly interested in utilizing her clinical training to bridge research and practice, hosting workshops and facilitating interventions designed to change institutional and cultural factors that are barriers to success. As a VVS, Dr. Winterrowd will take advantage of the recent attention on work-family navigation, working mothers, and gendered racism in the academy to conduct a review of the recent literature on the impact of academic motherhood, particularly for women of color, on success as a scientist. 

To learn more about our past and current scholars and to read their work, visit: equityinstem.org/virtual-visiting-scholars

###

About the ARC Network: Funded by the National Science Foundation ADVANCE program, Award HRD-1740860, the ARC Network seeks to achieve gender equity for faculty in higher education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. As the STEM equity brain trust, the ARC Network recognizes the achievements made so far while producing new perspectives, methods and interventions with an intersectional, intentional and inclusive lens. Learn more about the ARC Network at www.equityinstem.org and on social media using #EquityInSTEM.

About ACCESS+: The Amplifying the Alliance to Catalyze Change for Equity in STEM Success (ACCESS+) Initiative, funded by National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE  Partnership grant #2017953, aspires to leverage STEM professional societies to accelerate systemic STEM culture-change to advance gender diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

About WEPAN: WEPAN is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1990. Recognized as the leading champion in North America for leveraging research and best practices to propel the inclusion of women in the field of engineering, WEPAN advocates to fully embrace diversity, equity and inclusion to meet the demands of today’s innovation and performance-driven business culture. Dedicated to advancing cultures of inclusion and diversity in engineering higher education and workplaces, WEPAN connects people, research, and practice to increase participation, retention and success of women and other under-represented groups in engineering from college to executive leadership. To learn more, visit www.wepan.org.

‍