We are committed to supporting the visibility, success, and well-being of everyone in the College of Engineering community. This includes current students, faculty, and staff, and future community members we have yet to recruit, engage, and inspire. We believe anyone can be an Oregon State Engineer, and our college culture needs to embody that sense of inclusion and belonging.
The College of Engineering is a great place to learn and work because we are committed to being better. Our 2022-23 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion plan evolved from previous plans. We will continue to learn, revise, and expand our efforts to meet the needs of our current community and the community we aspire to be.
Go Beavs!
Scott A. Ashford
Kearney Dean of Engineering
College of Engineering
Plan summary
The Community Goal in the College of Engineering’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan is to "cultivate a community that embodies collaborative and inclusive excellence."
In developing our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Plan, we devised an integrated set of tactics that, collectively, builds to reach our community members where they are, respectful of everyone’s lived experiences and their unique path forward as we pursue our shared goal of inclusive excellence. We recognize that we all move forward in our own way and at our own pace, and we all have the right to define our path. To this end, the college has developed a variety of opportunities for engagement, professional development, leadership, and learning. We appreciate that each community member requires different levels and types of support during our journey. We endeavor to identify and anticipate how best to support the individuals in our community, including resources to support wellness, financial, educational, and professional needs.
Expanding K-12 and community college outreach
Anyone can study engineering, and Oregon State is a welcoming and nurturing environment in which to do so.
Examples of our efforts to expand outreach include programs include: Beaver Hangouts, Summer Experience in Science and Engineering for Youth, the Oregon Migrant Engineering Institute, high school teacher and counselor externships as well as high school and summer camp visits.
Supporting undergraduate student success
We will support students in the classroom and the community through educational, financial, interpersonal, and wellness initiatives to provide a transformational education that produces graduates who drive change throughout their lives.
Examples of our efforts in this area include: Engineering+, the Catalyst Scholars Program, the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Dreamers Fellowship, Dean's Inclusive Teaching Initiative Grant program, and college’s Mental Health Improvement Program.
Supporting graduate student success
We will focus on fundamentally improving how we identify and engage potential graduate students, evaluate their applications, support them financially, and prepare them for professional success.
Examples of our efforts in this area include: Supporting GEM fellows, implementing holistic admission practices across the college, providing living wage stipends to all graduate research and teaching assistants, cultivating pipelines to minority-serving institutions through the Laboratory Exploring Advanced Degrees workshop, piloting a graduate ambassador program, and offering coaching for communications and interviewing for doctoral students
Tenured/tenure-track faculty
We will engage the best faculty candidates in our programs, support them professionally and interpersonally once they arrive, and enable them to be the best possible educators and mentors they can be for our students.
Examples of our efforts in this area include: Disrupting the faculty hiring process to minimize bias; participating in Oregon State’s Pre-Doctoral Scholars Program; integrating EDI expectations throughout the promotion and tenure lifecycle; facilitating and promoting professional development; supporting membership in the National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, and other organizations; and conducting a systematic overview of the promotion and tenure process.
Professional faculty and staff
We will ensure that professional faculty and staff remain professionally engaged and challenged while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Examples of our efforts in this area include: Facilitating flexible work environments and schedules, promoting professional faculty and staff job openings widely, and emphasizing staff recognition and internal promotions.
Cross-cutting efforts
We will engage as a community in efforts to promote diversity and inclusion. This includes engaging with the broader campus community, seeking feedback and guidance from constituencies within the College of Engineering, and learning collectively about topics that matter to us all. We will also participate in efforts for EDI-related institutional change, create an advisory committee, and support professional development related to EDI.