DISCOVERY AND DIALOGUE: DIVERSITY LESSONS IN ENGINEERING
EDUCATION REIMAGINED
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illanova’s 2020–2030 Strategic Plan—“Rooted. Restless.”—identifies a number of initiatives intended to connect to and advance the University’s Augustinian Catholic values and mission. Among them are “enhancing dialogue across varied groups and perspectives” and “promoting institutional diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.” One Mechanical Engineering professor was determined to make a difference in this regard. This fall, Assistant Teaching Professor Dr. Jeffrey Koller began integrating the biographies of underrepresented engineers and scientists into his Dynamic Systems and Finite Elements classes. While lessons in DEI are not typically associated with STEM courses, Dr. Koller believes they have a place in every classroom, regardless of topic. “Representation matters in the classroom, department and industry,” he says. The goal is to educate students who in turn will be more committed to creating an inclusive engineering environment. Approximately every other week, Dr. Koller spends 15–20 minutes at the end of one class doing what he calls “storytelling.” Over the course of the fall semester, he presented the contributions of seven different engineering change makers, including those whose race, gender, religion and sexuality are historically underrepresented in STEM fields. Among those he introduces: •
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lijah “the Real” McCoy, a 19th century African American inventor E best known for inventing lubrication devices used to make train travel more efficient. Katherine Johnson, one of NASA’s human “computers” who performed the complex calculations that enabled humans to successfully achieve space flight. Alan Turing, the famed code-breaking war hero, now considered the father of computer science and artificial intelligence, who was criminally convicted under the U.K.’s homophobic laws. Ursula Burns, who became the first African American woman to lead a Fortune 500 company when she was named CEO of Xerox, where she began as an intern.
Dr. Koller also shares the story of Guion Stewart Bluford Jr., a Philadelphia native who was the first African American to go to space. “The city has a statue of a fictional character—Rocky—but very little recognition for this NASA astronaut who helped break the color barrier.” “My goal is to get students to engage in dialogue about these topics outside of the classroom,” says Dr. Koller, and based on the unsolicited responses he’s received, the biographies are having the desired effect. “I’ve had several students email me to say how much they appreciate having these stories included. If one or two conversations come out of this that wouldn’t otherwise have taken place, I’m happy.”
ENGINEERING SUMMER PROGRAMS SUCCESSFULLY PIVOT TO VIRTUAL MODE While countless camps, internships and summer programs across the country were canceled in the wake of COVID-19, engineers’ resourcefulness was on display as the College of Engineering moved forward virtually with its three seasonal offerings: the Engineering Entrepreneurship Summer Institute (E2SI); INNOVATE: The L3Harris Summer Program; and NovaEdge, a one-week summer camp for high school students.
ENGINEERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUMMER INSTITUTE When Dr. Lauri Olivier joined Villanova University as director of the Engineering Entrepreneurship program in January 2020, she never could have anticipated how shortlived her time on campus would be. Just as she was ironing out the details of her family’s move from Florida to the Philadelphia suburbs, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. When she flew home in March, she didn’t know that she wouldn’t be returning for E2SI, which begins in late May, or that the program would need to quickly be adapted to a virtual learning environment for its 23 students. She says, “We tried to make this the best possible experience for them, and I think it went very, very well.” During the seven-and-a-halfweek program, which included representation from the College of Engineering, Villanova School of Business, and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, students were introduced to design thinking, creativity and innovation
