May 10, 2021

Interested members of the Georgia Tech community are encouraged to attend a virtual invited seminar with Brooke C. Coley who will speak on "Navigating at the Intersection of Two Pandemics: Exploring Black Engineering Graduate Students’ Simultaneous Experiences of COVID-19 and Racism-20." The event is co-sponsored by the Georgia Tech College of Engineering’s Diversity and Inclusion Council and the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council.

Brooke C. Coley, Ph.D., Arizona State University
Title: "Navigating at the Intersection of Two Pandemics: Exploring Black Engineering Graduate Students’ Simultaneous Experiences of COVID-19 and Racism-20"
Date: Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Time: 11 A.M. EST
Location: http://bit.ly/BrookeCColey (WebEx)

In this seminar, the presenter will share findings from an in-progress work and facilitate a conversation anchored in the experiences of Black graduate students in engineering (BGSE) at the intersections of two pandemics. This engaging conversation will support our awareness of how the experiences of BGSE as a marginalized group in engineering have been compounded by the simultaneous realities of COVID-19 and Racism-20 (systemic racism). Specifically, the duality of BGSE as Black people in America and Black graduate students in U.S. engineering programs creates a unique set of experiences about which little is known. This seminar will amplify the experiences of BGSE in this moment and their explicit needs with the goal of increasing institutional awareness, and thus accountability, for best supporting their persistence and success.

Brooke C. Coley, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in Engineering at the Polytechnic School of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. She is also Principal Investigator of the Shifting Perceptions, Attitudes and Cultures in Engineering (SPACE) Lab, which aspires to elevate the experiences of marginalized populations, dismantle systemic injustices, and transform the way inclusion is cultivated in engineering through the implementation of novel technologies and methodologies in engineering education. Her active NSF-supported research focuses on three specific areas: the role of identity-related professional organizations in engineering student success (NSF# 1828659), factors impacting   trajectory decisions of engineering students from underrepresented groups at community colleges (NSF# 173316) and creating pathways to engineering education research (NSF# 2051156). Dr. Coley recently received the 2021 Diversity and Inclusion Award from the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering for her commitment to creating and fostering a diverse and inclusive environment. She holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland Baltimore County where she became a Meyerhoff Scholar and a PhD in Bioengineering with a concentration in Biomechanics from the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to joining the Polytechnic School, Dr. Coley completed postdoctoral training at ASU in Engineering Education. She also served as the Associate Director for the Center for Diversity in Engineering at the University of Virginia and as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation (NSF) for several years.