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Abstract

Description of Graphic on the cover of the October issue of JEE 109(4)Professoriate Bound: Online Coaching for Black Engineering ScholarsAnn Varnedoe 1, Dara E. Naphan‐Kingery 2, Ebony O. McGee 1, and William H. Robinson 11 Explorations in Diversifying Engineering Faculty Initiative (EDEFI), Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN2 Department of Social Sciences and Cultural Studies, Western New Mexico University, Silver City, NMProfessoriate Bound is a gender‐identity and race‐conscious virtual coaching program that focuses on the necessity of diversifying the professoriate within the field of engineering and computer science. Through research backed measures (Robinson, McGee, Bentley, Houston & Botchway, 2016; McGee, White, Jenkins, Houston, Bentley, Smith & Robinson, 2016; Naphan‐Kingery, Ridgeway, Brockman, McKane, Botchway & McGee, 2019), two Black faculty members guide participants through an 11‐session coaching program. The faculty members are assigned to coach a group of two to three Black doctoral students from the disciplines of engineering or computer science; the program assists these students as they navigate the process of successfully completing their PhD and enter the professional world. Each coaching pair consists of one engineering faculty member and one social science faculty member. In addition to providing professional development, the overall goal of Professoriate Bound was to provide participants with a virtual counterspace—a “safe space” that is separate from mainstream educational spaces and occupied by other minoritized students (Ong, Smith & Ko, 2018; Solórzano, Ceja & Yosso, 2000), where they could have a sense of belonging and safety while sharing their narratives. Moreover, we wanted to provide participants with a better idea of what academic life is like as a Black engineer and more generally as a Black faculty member. Thus, we expected that these spaces would also foreground the centrality of race and racism as social structures by discussing pertinent social science knowledge, but that they would also serve as counterspaces in which the participants could prioritize and center their personal, experiential knowledge. As the spaces existed virtually, the students were able to participate in their individual doctoral programs while also having this online community where their identities and experiences could be affirmed.One participant explained: “I didn't realize how much that my identity plays into my growth and development as a graduate student. There are so many times that I switch between being a Black engineer or being an engineer who happens to be Black. This helped me see that it is normal to feel this way.” Currently, the landscape of Engineering and Computing for Black faculty lags far behind the representation of other racial groups. Over the past ten years, Black faculty in engineering departments have made up between 2% – 2.7% of the tenured faculty members (Roy, 2019). The goal of this program is to provide the tangible steps necessary for Black PhD students to successfully obtain tenure‐track positions through personalized coaching. In addition to providing students with this critical space for professional development, students are given a form of social support through their peers in the program.Professoriate Bound just completed both its second cohort and an extension of the program that was created to support members of the first cohort as they continued their professional journey. The successes of the program have been detailed through both the professional achievements of our participants and the qualitative data we have collected that speak to the importance of this counterspace.ACKNOWLEDGMENTThis material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. EEC‐1642895.REFERENCESMcGee, E. O., White, D. T., Jenkins, A. T., Houston, S., Bentley, L. C., Smith, W. J., & Robinson, W. H. (2016). Black engineering students’ motivation for PhD attainment: Passion plus purpose. Journal for Multicultural Education. 10(2): 167–193. DOI: 10.1108/JME-01-2016-0007Naphan‐Kingery, D., Ridgeway, M., Brockman, A., McKane, R., Botchway, P. & McGee, E. O. (2019). Investigation of a ‘equity ethic’ in engineering and computing doctoral students. Journal of Engineering Education. 108(3): 337‐354. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20284Ong, M., Smith, J.M. and Ko, L.T. (2018). Counterspaces for women of color in STEM higher education: Marginal and central spaces for persistence and success. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 55: 206‐245. doi:10.1002/tea.21417Robinson, W. H., McGee, E. O., Bentley, L. C., Houston, S. L., & Botchway, P. K. (2016). Addressing negative racial and gendered experiences that discourage academic careers in engineering. Computing in Science & Engineering., 18(2): 29–39. DOI: 10.1109/MCSE.2016.38Roy, J., (2019). Engineering by the numbers. Washington DC: American Society for Engineering Education. Retrieved from https://www.asee.org/documents/papers-and-publications/publications/college-profiles/2018-Engineering-by-Numbers-Engineering-Statistics-UPDATED-15-July-2019.pdfSolórzano, D., Ceja, M., & Yosso, T. (2000). Critical race theory, racial microaggressions, and campus racial climate: The experiences of African American college students. Journal of Negro Education, 69(1‐2), 60–73.