New project will examine experiences of disabled STEM students, faculty
Allison Lombardi, a professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education, Carlyn Mueller, an assistant professor in the same department, and Graham Rifenbark, a research scientist at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), are leading a project that will increase understanding of the experiences of disabled graduate students and faculty in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.
“Individuals with disabilities are underrepresented and continue to experience marginalization and barriers to accessing STEM careers,” Lombardi says. “This is often due to ableist structural and attitudinal barriers.”
Mueller says the three-year project will help increase engagement, academic career retention, and career advancement for a population of people who will enrich the STEM professional community across the country.
Rodgers studies equity-minded change in geosciences education, faculty cluster hiring
Aireale J. Rodgers, an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, recently received funding for two projects aimed at promoting understanding of equity-based change initiatives in higher education.
The first project, funded by the National Science Foundation, will examine the racialized foundations of the study of geosciences and create resources for geosciences departments seeking to reckon with that foundation. The second project, funded by the Sloan Foundation, will examine the purposes and outcomes of faculty cluster hiring initiatives at six historically white, research-intensive universities in three states.
Budge to build better understanding of social support for transgender, nonbinary individuals
Stephanie Budge, a professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology, and Elliot Tebbe, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing, received a National Institutes of Health grant to create a better way to measure and understand social support systems for transgender and nonbinary individuals.
“We know from research and data that social support is important,” Budge says. “And somewhere we think there’s a big gap is an understanding of what social support looks like for (these communities).”
The team expects to test social support with 1,000 transgender and nonbinary people, with a goal of laying the groundwork for new behavioral health interventions.