Changing the Narrative: DEI is Essential to Excellence in STEMM
Abstract: Anti-DEI legislation has been proposed in 28 states and passed in 13 of these. Public colleges and universities in these states are being placed in the position of shuttering DEI offices and programs and terminating efforts initiated to expand and diversify the population of students and faculty. What does this mean for research and education in engineering and science in light of the clear connection between scientific excellence, innovation, development of inclusive technology and DEI? We must tell our own stories to counter the misleading and distorted rationales being espoused for dismantling work crucial to building a community of innovators and a STEMM workforce for the future.
Bio: Shirley Malcom is senior advisor and director of STEMM Equity Achievement (SEA) Change at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In more than 40-years at AAAS she has worked to improve the quality and increase access to education and careers in STEMM for all.
Dr. Malcom is a trustee of Caltech and regent of Morgan State University. She was a member of the National Science Board, policy-making body of the NSF, and served on President Clinton’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology. Malcom, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, holds a PhD in Ecology from Penn State, M.A. in Zoology from UCLA and B.S. with distinction in Zoology from the University of Washington. She is a fellow of the AAAS and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences where she serves as International Secretary. She has received 18 honorary degrees.
Malcom was co-chair of the Gender Advisory Board of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development and co-chair of Gender InSITE, an international collaboration to support application of a gender lens in policy-making in Science, Technology and Innovation. She serves on the boards of the Heinz Endowments, Kavli Foundation and Public Agenda and chairs the board of the National Math-Science Initiative. In 2003, Malcom received the Public Welfare Medal of the National Academy of Sciences, the highest award given by the Academy.
