AWM Aligning Actions at Crossroads Workshop
Join AWM at the 2022 Symposium for this important event!
The Aligning Actions at Crossroads: An Intersectional Approach to Addressing Harassment in the Mathematical Sciences workshop to improve the culture and climate in the mathematical sciences will take place in conjunction with the 2022 AWM Research Symposium in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Thursday, June 16, 2022. When members of the community are ostracized, harassed, or made to feel unwelcome, then the success of mathematics as a whole is put into jeopardy. Recognizing that there are additional and particular hostilities faced by gender minorities, such as women mathematicians who identify as neuro-diverse, gender-diverse, or gender fluid; women mathematicians who identify as racial minorities; women with visible or invisible disabilities; and women with other minority identities and status, the workshop will incorporate the lived experience of individuals with multiple marginalized identities.
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| Vrushali Bokil Oregon State University |
Stephanie Goodwin Incluxion Works, Inc. |
Yolanda Flores Niemann University of North Texas |
The 2022 Aligning Actions at Crossroads Workshop will feature:
- A welcome from AWM President Kathryn Leonard (Occidental);
- An introductory lecture in the intersection aspects of systemic oppression by an expert in intersectional harassment, Yolanda Flores Niemann;
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Two Interactive Bystander Intervention sessions presented by Power Play (University of New Hampshire) and moderated by Stephanie Goodwin (Incluxion Works, Inc.);
- An introduction to the creation of action plans from Vrushali Bokil (Oregon State) and working sessions on developing action plans for your department;
- Resources for you, your department, and your institution to guide conversations;
And plenty of informal opportunities to grow your network of colleagues who are working on similar initiatives!
This interactive workshop will
- establish the impacts of hostile work environments, noting how climate and policies can affect the prevalence of harassment, and discuss the recommendations for improving climate and institutional structures;
- define a desired workplace climate and actions needed to achieve awareness and adoption;
- provide tools, techniques, and training to respond to behaviors that undermine a welcoming environment; and
- identify gaps in university policies that drive unwanted behaviors.
Additionally, workshop participants will develop individual action plans for implementing change at their institutions. These objectives will be reached through a variety of activities, included with the speakers and interactive bystander intervention training. In particular, speakers will include experts in organizational development, professionals knowledgeable about best practices in policy implementation in academia, and an expert in understanding intersectional issues in today’s work environments.
The application period is January 1 – April 15, 2022. You can apply here.
Thanks to the Division of Mathematical Science at the National Science Foundation, AWM will be able to provide partial travel support for up to thirty participants. Everyone is welcome. Decisions will be made by April 15th. Questions? Email ed.admin@awm-math.org.
Featured Speakers
Dr. Vrushali Bokil. Dr. Vrushali A. Bokil is currently serving as the Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Studies in the College of Science at Oregon State University (OSU), starting in this position on October 19, 2020, and a Professor of Mathematics at OSU with research interests in computational and applied mathematics, numerical analysis, and mathematical biology. Dr. Bokil is an OSU ADVANCE Faculty Fellow (2017-2018), OSU ADVANCE Seminar (2017) and Train the Trainer (2019) graduate. She received the inaugural Inclusive Excellence Award in the College of Science at OSU in Fall 2019, for “meeting head on the challenges of putting words into actions to advance Equity Justice and Inclusion at OSU.” Dr. Bokil’s ADVANCE work includes creating seminars for graduate students that embed a systems of oppression perspective, and most recently a mindfulness perspective, organizing workshops to train faculty in the College of Science at OSU in creating equity, inclusion and access seminars and participating in discussions on Values-Based Academic Leadership Trajectories for Women in STEM (VAuLTS) as part of the Northwest Regional ADVANCE Partnership. Dr. Bokil was a co-organizer of the Moving Towards Action workshop held January 14, 2020, at the Joint Math Meetings in Denver, and Chair of the Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Inclusion Working Group in the College of Science at OSU leading the writing of the college’s 2021 diversity action plan, “Embedding Equity, Access and Inclusion.” She is a 2021-2022 ELATES at Drexel Fellow and the Chair of the Career Opportunities Committee at the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM).
Dr. Stephanie Goodwin. A nationally recognized leader in diversity, equity and inclusion, Dr. Stephanie Goodwin has 20+ years of experience in higher education as a scientist, educator, and academic leader with expertise in diversity and inclusion science, faculty development, and academic affairs. Her “Speaking Up” workshops have promoted dialogue to improve organizational culture and reduce identity harassment at 30+ universities and professional societies across the US. Incluxion Works, Inc.— founded by Stephanie A. Goodwin, Ph.D.–brings diversity science to bear on DEI strategy. Incluxion Works partners with organizations around the country to effect evidence-based institutional change. She earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Goodwin is an elected Fellow of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology.
Dr. Yolanda Flores Niemann. Yolanda Flores Niemann received her doctorate degree in psychology at the University of Houston, and is presently a semi-retired Professor of Psychology at the University of North Texas (UNT). Her scholarship has focused generally on critical race psychology and more specifically, on the role that macro, socio-ecological, contextual forces play in: tokenization of Faculty of Color; faculty development and job satisfaction; the recognition and impact of microaggressions; the generation and maintenance of stereotypes; intergroup perception and relations; and pedagogy for courses on social psychology and race.
Her scholarship includes nine books and edited journals, and 55 journal articles and book chapters. Her most recent books include (coedited) Presumed Incompetent II: Race, Class, Power, and Resistance of Women in Academia (2020), Disparities in the Academy: Accounting for the Elephant (2020), Surviving and Thriving in Academia, A Guide for Members of Marginalized Groups (2017), and Presumed Incompetent: The Intersections of Race and Class for Women in Academia (2012). Other books include Black/Brown Relations and Stereotypes, and Chicana Leadership. Her film, Microaggressions in the Classroom, has been viewed nearly 400,000 times and is widely used as a training tool. Niemann has extensive university administrative experience, having served as Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at UNT, Vice Provost and Dean at Utah State University, and numerous administrative positions at Washington State University. She has been Principal Investigator of over 41 million dollars in federal outreach grants. Niemann has received numerous honors, including the Jenessa Shapiro Diversity and Inclusion Award (2019) from the Society of Personal and Social Psychologists, and the Ulys and Vera Knight Faculty Mentor Award (2017) from UNT. In 2016, Niemann was an invited speaker for the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. She has been the invited keynote speaker for numerous conferences and workshops across the United States, and has mentored many faculty, and graduate and undergraduate students.
On a personal note, Niemann has been married to her husband, Barry, for 45 years; they are proud of their son, daughter, and grandchildren. Since Sept. 1, 2021, she has been enjoying retirement and modified service for UNT.
Ever wondered “Why didn’t I say something?” after witnessing social bias—a stereotype, a prejudice or discrimination—that happened in your everyday life? You’re not alone. Research suggests that people typically want to say or do something when bias occurs, but in the end most opt not to respond. Deciding whether and how to respond to bias is complicated. Understanding what motivates us to speak up, the challenges we face when doing so, and strategies for effective responding can help bystanders to bias better evaluate their options and select effective strategies. This interactive presentation will invite attendees to learn about bystander reactions to social biases and how these reactions can help or hinder decisions to speak up. Attendees will apply these concepts to everyday incidents of bias in academic settings with an emphasis on understanding the challenges women in STEM experience in these contexts. This workshop is in partnership with Incluxion Works, Inc. and the team from PowerPlay Interactive Development at the University of New Hampshire.
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Incluxion Works, Inc. — founded by Stephanie A. Goodwin, Ph.D. — brings diversity science to bear on DEI strategy. Incluxion Works partners with organizations around the country to effect evidence-based institutional change. An elected Fellow of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, Dr. Goodwin has 20+ years of experience in higher education as a scientist, educator, and academic leader with expertise in diversity and inclusion science, faculty development, and academic affairs. Her “Speaking Up” workshops have promoted dialogue to improve organizational culture and reduce identity harassment at 30+ universities and professional societies across the US.
PowerPlay Interactive Development is a professional applied theatre company housed within the University of New Hampshire’s Department of Theatre & Dance. PowerPlay develops and runs interactive training “laboratories” that allow participants to experiment with challenges around difficult human interactions and behavior. PPID was founded in 2013 by its current Artistic Director, Professor David Kaye. They have worked with clients and presenting organizations throughout the country including the NCAA, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Science Foundation, and numerous higher education institutions.
AWM would like to support institutional change across our profession. If you were unable to attend this session, we hope the resources provided below will aid your department and institution in working through change. [This will be updated in the coming months. Please check back in the fall.]
Do Sexual Harassment Prevention Trainings Really Work? by Vicki J. Magley, Joanna L. Grossman on November 2017.
Intersectionality in STEM Infographic by Engendering Success in STEM.
AWM would like to thank the workshop sponsor!
