The Crimson White Print Edition - February 29th, 2024

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2A continued from 1A — STEM news The numbers In the College of Engineering, fall enrollment percentages for Black, Hispanic/Latino and Asian students grew considerably from 2019 to 2023. The share of women also increased: Black students: 8.24% to 12.42%. Hispanic/Latino students: 3.73% to 6.74%. Asian students: 3.29% to 5.3%. Women: 22.6% to 24.4%. Indigenous students, which the University calls “American Indian or Alaska Native” students, saw relative stagnation, going from 1.6% to 1.58% in the same period. STEM majors in the College of Arts and Sciences saw similar trends over the same period, although less pronounced: Black students: 13.04% to 14.79%. Hispanic/Latino students: 5.34% to 7.71%. Asian students: 3.58% to 3.91%. Women: 69.1% to 71.4%. Indigenous students: 1.85% to 1.81%. Diversity increases in STEM are not only happening at the college level. According to a January 2023 report by the National Science Foundation, the national workforce has seen a boost in diversity in recent years as well. “Collectively, underrepresented minorities — Hispanics, Blacks, and American Indians or Alaska Natives — represented nearly a quarter (24%) of the STEM workforce in 2021, up from 18% in 2011,” the report said. The proportion of women in the STEM workforce increased by 3 percentage points during this same period. “A diverse workforce provides the potential for innovation by leveraging different backgrounds, experiences, and points of view. ... Furthermore, STEM workers have higher median earnings and lower rates of unemployment compared with non-STEM workers,” the report said. Why some groups of students are underrepresented UA student organizations like the National Society of Black Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers have been fighting the issue of underrepresentation in STEM for decades. These organizations have similar goals, working to increase interest in STEM fields, promote academic and professional success, and help the community. In general, the groups host representatives from companies in industry and professional development workshops, among other activities. Established in 1975, the UA chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers seeks to “increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community,” said President Malachi Battle, a Master of Business Administration candidate who studied aerospace engineering as an undergraduate. A first-generation student, Battle said support networks like NSBE are important for Black engineering students like him who might otherwise have trouble finding people they can identify with and relate to. He said these struggles were what led to the formation of the national organization in 1975. “A lot of Black engineers, especially in the ’60s, ... had challenges successfully completing their programs. ... And why was that so? For the exact same reasons that numerous Black engineers encounter when they came here: no support, typically first-generation students, no community, really, and frankly put, not everyone is for you,” Battle said. The first of similar organizations for Hispanic STEM students, by contrast, appeared formally on campus when the University recognized the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers in fall 2022. Vice president Sofia Estela, a junior majoring in civil engineering, said that in some cases, Hispanic students may avoid STEM fields due to the internalized stigma that Hispanic students are “supposed” to take on the jobs “nobody else wants.” “It's kind of just been a matter of debunking that stigma and getting Hispanics to believe in themselves and believe that they have the power to get what would be considered a conventionally white man's job or finish a white man's degree,” Estela said. Asian STEM students face slightly different challenges, Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers Vice President Susan Xiao said. She said her organization, like the SHPE, was recently recognized by the University. Xiao said one of the biggest challenges for Asian students comes after graduation. “Once we get into the workplace, there's not a lot of us who end up in leadership positions,” Xiao said. For some students, underrepresentation can create impostor syndrome. Society of Women Engineers President Hunter Grace Fairfax, a senior majoring in computer science, said this is a problem faced by many women in engineering. “I’ve suffered with it. I’m sure every woman in engineering has. They have ... the mindset of ... ‘This is a hard career,’” Fairfax said. “They’re almost waiting for themselves to get stuck.” Breaking into aerospace engineering, where women made up only 18.8% of fall 2023 enrollment, can be daunting, said President of Women of Aeronautics and Astronautics Emma Barchus, a senior aerospace engineering major. “It's very important to have resources for girls, because it's hard to reach out to classmates, sometimes, when it's all men,” Barchus said. For Indigenous students, however, representation in STEM fields is not increasing. Kaytie Colbert, co-president of the Bama Indigenous Student Organization Network and a junior majoring in nursing, said one potential reason is lack of scholarships. The College of Engineering had a 9.2% increase in enrollment of Black, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian students “There aren’t any scholarships available for Native students at UA,” Colbert said. “I definitely am not satisfied with what UA is doing, because they are not actively trying to increase enrollment of Native students. Honestly, it feels like we’re a forgotten race of people. But we are not — we are still here.” Recently, the University discontinued its main diversity scholarship, the National Recognition Scholarship, in favor of a competitive scholarship that does not consider race or ethnicity. Colbert said Indigenous representation in health care is particularly important, as Native people have different traditional approaches to medicine than Western medicine. House did not comment about why Indigenous representation in STEM on campus has not increased. Why diversity is increasing Students from underrepresented groups cited several potential reasons why diversity is increasing. “More people are beginning to believe, you know, that they're capable,” Battle said. “More people have access to resources and/or parents or prominent figures in their life, encouraging them to pursue their dreams.” Fairfax attributed the growth in women’s representation partly to scholarships that the University offers for women in STEM. Several students said that a rise in interest in STEM fields is a potential factor. “Now that...technology is really, really growing and we realize that we really can't live without technological literacy, it has definitely pushed more education about technology and engineering to younger students,” said Cindy Qiu, vice president of outreach for the Society of Women Engineers and a junior computer science major. Qiu said that the combination of taking Advanced Placement Computer Science in high school and hearing a guest speaker who led an engineering activity in her classroom inspired her to pursue computer science. “Hispanics, especially considering most of them come from lower-income households, are striving for career stability and going into big money, and that happens to be in STEM, and there's a ton of growth opportunity in STEM,” Estela said. While being in a STEMrelated field has been challenging at times for Barchus, the work she is doing inspires her to keep going “It is definitely difficult. But if you make the right connections, and reach out to your professors, just put in the work, you can do it,” Barchus said. “If all the boys in my class can do it, then I can, too.” Editor's Note: Susan Xiao is a staff graphic designer for The Crimson White Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Engagement Editor Creative Director Writing Editor Assistant Writing Editors NINETEEN FIFTY-SIX EDITORIAL STAFF Ta’Kyla Bates Dani Brown Jordan Strawter Lyric Wisdom Jeffrey Kelly Kay Maxwell Jordan Huggins Design Editor Photography Editor Assistant Photography Editor PR Manager Assistant PR Manager THE CRIMSON WHITE EDITORIAL STAFF Camille Sealey Sidney Todd Dakarii Williams Deja Evans Kennedy Ogden Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Engagement Editor Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chairperson Chief Copy Editor Assistant Copy Editors Opinions Editor News Editor Ashlee Woods editor@thecrimsonwhite.com Carson Lott managingeditor@thecrimsonwhite.com Ronni Rowan engagement@thecrimsonwhite.com Jeffrey Kelly dei@thecrimsonwhite.com Jack Maurer Sarah Clifton Cassie Montgomery Chance Phillips letters@thecrimsonwhite.com Ethan Henry newsdesk@thecrimsonwhite.com Assistant News Editors Culture Editor Assistant Culture Editor Sports Editor Assistant Sports Editor Photo Editor Assistant Photo Editor Chief Page Editor Chief Graphics Editor Multimedia Editor Maven Navarro Jacob Ritondo Savannah Ichikawa culture@thecrimsonwhite.com Gabriella Puccio-Johnson Abby McCreary sports@thecrimsonwhite.com Bella Martina Natalie Teat Riley Thompson Natalie Marburger Shelby West Augustus Barnette The Crims is the community newspaper of The University of Alabama. The Crimson White is an editorially free newspaper produced by students. The University of Alabama cannot influence editorial decisions and editorial opinions are those of the editorial board and do not represent the official opinions of the University. Advertising offices of The Crimson White are in room 1014, Student Media Building, 414 Campus Drive East. The advertising mailing address is Box 870170, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487. The Crimson White is printed monthly, August through April by The University of Alabama, Student Media, Box 870170, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487. Call 205-348-7257. All material contained herein, except advertising or where indicated otherwise, is Copyright © 2024 by The Crimson White and protected under the “Work Made for Hire” and “Periodical Publication” categories of the U.S. copyright laws. Material herein may not be reprinted without the expressed, written permission of The Crimson White. The Crimson White, Copyright © 2024
news Path Forward: DEI Plans impact campus community Rachel Seale Staff Writer, The Crimson White Jeffrey Kelly Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chairperson, The Crimson White Writing Editor, Nineteen Fifty-Six In 2019, G. Christine Taylor, vice president and associate provost of diversity, equity and inclusion, along with a committee of faculty, staff and students, released a set of recommendations in the Path Forward Diversity Report with the goal of reaching greater diversity, equity and inclusion on campus. Though there hasn’t been a visible update to the report since 2020, the report still serves as an outline for productive diversity efforts on campus with diversity initiatives within departments and colleges sharing similar objectives to Path Forward’s overarching goals of recruiting and retaining diverse faculty, staff and students; creating a more welcoming campus community; developing cultural competency; and expanding diversity, equity and inclusion infrastructure. Matthew Hudnall, an associate professor of management information systems and the president of the Faculty Senate, said the multifaceted approach of Path Forward has established a paradigm and mission for influencing change. “Each college has increased the amount of personnel that are devoted to increasing diversity within their own college,” Hudnall said. According to their websites, nine of the 12 colleges within the University have either a committee or individual who is focused on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts for the respective college. Path Forward has also served as an access point for needed conversations about individual diversity plans. Dr. Pamela Payne-Foster, the president of the Black Faculty and Staff Association and a community medicine and population health professor, said that when BFSA talks to administration about the need for more diversity on campus, as with its 2022 retention project recommendation, the organization goes back to the Path Forward report to articulate its point. However, outside of discussions of Path Forward, Payne-Foster said conversations surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion aren’t just being raised by faculty. She said that last year, during a meeting about accreditation, there was a recommendation made for more diversity, especially in health care professionals since the demographics of people seeking health care are changing. “We feel as professors, we have to prepare our medical students for that demographic shift, and many of them are not equipped,” Payne-Foster said. “They're equipped medically to handle patients, but not culturally to handle patients who are different from them.” Hudnall said there’s significant value in a diverse faculty because it introduces students to diverse views and creates a better environment for recruiting diverse students. Currently, Hudnall serves as the co-chair of the hiring subcommittee within the Culverhouse College of Business’ diversity, equity and inclusion committee, which is creating a system of checks and balances to help recruit diverse applicants for each department by implementing a nontraditional marketing of positions and a check that helps departments examine the diversity of their application pools. The Faculty Senate’s DEI committee also works to recruit by highlighting events like the DEI Summit on Disability Among Faculty in March or the DEI Breakfast in April. However, Payne-Foster said when it comes to recruitment, it's not just the faculty or staff member you’re recruiting; it's their family too. “Say I’m a professor, but my husband's not. They need to have a job. There’s not a lot of job choices here,” she said. “If the spouse can't get a job, that's going to keep a person from coming.” Payne-Foster said many factors affect the recruiting process, like child care, school systems, culture, arts, environment, etc. Yet Path Forward emphasizes that recruitment is only half the battle for lasting diversity. Once someone is accepted, it’s important to make sure they have a welcoming environment, professional development, support and more to ensure that new faculty want to stay. When it comes to staff retention, Hudnall said the University’s human resources department has reimagined the hiring process. Changes included new staff titles, opening different pay grades, increasing pay ranges and placing a greater emphasis on a candidate’s experience and capabilities over their education. “That's still an important check mark, education, without a doubt, but they're more acknowledging what the individual brings to the table,” Hudnall said. “I think that allows greater retention of staff, because the HR system is now more flexible, to actually understand and incorporate the capabilities and needs of the individual into that process.” We feel as professors, we have to prepare our medical students for that demographic shift, and many of them are not equipped. They’re equipped medically to handle patients, but not culturally to handle patients who are different from them. Dr. Pamela Payne-Foster Black Faculty and Staff Asscociation President He said the Office of Academic Affairs is in the infancy stage of creating something similar. “I think that's an ongoing opportunity that will hopefully increase faculty retention at UA,” Hudnall said. In terms of student retention, Hudnall said it's about ensuring there are as many resources on campus as possible to help previously under-supported students, like Legacy Scholars or the Alabama REACH program, so these students can succeed in college. “Greater care is needed by the University to provide support mechanisms for them,” he said. “So, I know that the central administration has been [putting] more and more programs and effort and money into supporting those initiatives.” André Denham, associate dean for graduate academic affairs and a former member of the Path Forward committee, said there are several graduatelevel programs created to support graduate students, like GradACTS, a professional development program, Tide Together, a mentorship program for personal and professional success, and the newly launched Crimson Odyssey, which offers mentorship training for faculty and students. While different departments work on creating programs to recruit and retain faculty, staff and students, the creation of respective faculty/staff and student organizations like the Asian American Pacific Islander Association, the Hispanic- Latino Association, and other affinity groups are allowing diverse people to build community and create a more welcoming environment through their visibility. For Julia Dominguez, the president of HLA and a junior majoring in political science and psychology, and Valentina Mora, vice president of HLA and a sophomore majoring in French and communicative disorders, increasing visibility in their organization has meant hosting cultural events for students, like Carnaval, to showcase that they are more than just a demographic. She said even though Hispanic or Latino students make up a small percentage of students on campus — 6.59%, according to the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment — they are present and want that percentage of students to know that HLA is here to support them and make them feel at home. As the president of the AAPIA, Hee Yun Lee, associate dean for research and endowed academic chair in social work and health, said this sentiment also rings true. She said the creation of the AAPIA was a great improvement in diversity efforts. Although the organization has been operating for only a year, it has still been able to offer support, a sense of belonging and advocacy for the University’s Asian American and Pacific Islander faculty, staff and student community. Lee said that with every past and upcoming event — 3A like the AAPI Heritage Month celebration in March, the first AAPI-specific graduation ceremony in May, or social events for community members to join in fellowship — the organization hopes to bring joy to the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. “I see that our visibility is still small, but it will become a big impact to the UA community as well as the Tuscaloosa community,” she said. While these organizations have worked independently from Path Forward, the original pillars have still been shown throughout the ongoing work. These organizations often find themselves collaborating with the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, because many initiatives can’t be done in one department. Denham said that collaboration was an important part of the initial report because without it, leaders found themselves doing more, but were duplicating efforts. He said he doesn’t think this was a bad thing; however, it showcased how an absence of a centralized structure makes people think they must figure it out themselves. “So, I think it was well intentioned, but it actually wasn’t productive, because as we said, we weren’t all moving in the same direction, but everybody had the same end goal in mind,” he said. “You get a whole lot more economies of scale when everybody’s working together collaboratively on the same thing and going in the same direction.” Now, as these organizations move individually as well as collectively toward increased diversity across the board, many are worried about what the future of diversity, equity and inclusion will look like given a recent “divisive concepts” bill, Senate Bill 129, that could potentially halt DEI programs in Alabama. However, despite an unclear future for DEI on campuses, many hope that things will only get better in the post-Path Forward report era. To read the complete version, please visit thecrimsonwhite.com CW / Shelby West
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