Championing an Equity-Focused Approach to Student Success at the Community College: Empowering Students and Faculty in STEM

Santa Monica College, in partnership with the California Community Colleges’ Success Network (3CSN), will be hosting , an NSF-sponsored one-day virtual conference (#2231669) that focuses on practices in STEM aimed at closing equity gaps for historically marginalized communities, including Black and Latinx students. This conference provides a platform to exchange ideas and knowledge, and to highlight faculty innovations, programs, and student support services that promote equity and inclusion in STEM education.

The presenters will highlight projects, guide workshops, and illustrate practices they have used in progressing towards closing equity gaps. The attendees will gain knowledge in building a process to better understand the impact and effectiveness of equity-focused professional development. The conference will foster discussion around improving STEM education and motivate educators to develop equitable pedagogical and institutional practices centered on underrepresented and racially minoritized students.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Terrell R. Morton, Assistant Professor of Identity and Justice in STEM Education and Scholar-Activist, engages work that specifically looks at understanding how identity shapes students’ decision-making in postsecondary STEM and how, through critical, strengths-based frameworks, we can re-envision the culture and context of STEM education.