Welcome to P4E!

The P4E:STEM project seeks to
cultivate inclusive professional identities
in engineering and computer science students
through curricular design and implementation.
Inclusive professional identities prepare students to be aware, skillful, and mindful when engaging in endeavors associated with their chosen disciplines.

P4E Overview

Key characteristics of inclusive professional identities addressed by P4E:
  • competence in applying disciplinary knowledge, skills, and abilities
  • appreciation of how diversity strengthens a discipline
  • ability to act in inclusive ways and create inclusive environments
  • consideration of an endeavor’s impact on diverse populations
In this project, diversity and inclusivity are contextualized by the engineering and computer science academic disciplines and those undertakings and professions that draw upon students’ educational experiences in the disciplines.
The P4E project adopts a broad definition of diversityClick to Expand  that encompasses a wide span of demographic characteristics, with emphasis on those commonly associated with underrepresentation, marginalization, and discrimination.
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The following exemplify breadth of demographic considerations:
  • problem solving approaches
  • personality
  • past experience
  • expertise
  • cognitive, social, and personal characteristics
  • race
  • creed
  • color
  • ethnicity
  • sex
  • gender
  • gender identity or expression
  • pregnancy
  • national origin
  • nationality
  • age
  • ancestry
  • marital, domestic partnership, or civil union status
  • hereditary traits
  • genetic information
  • military service or status
  • mental or physical disability or perceived disability

Who are we?

  • Christina H. Paguyo (1979-2023)

  • Rebecca Atadero

    Colorado State University

  • Karen E. Rambo-Hernandez

    Texas A&M University

  • Jody Paul

    Metropolitan State University of Denver

Objectives

Current objectives of the Partnership for Equity project are focused on transfer, extension, and assessment of previously-developed activities and the development of new strategies.

  • Transferability of First-Year Activities

    Study the transfer of first-year activities developed and piloted in engineering courses at Colorado State University (CSU) under the previous NSF funded grant (#1432601) to engineering and computer science courses at three other campuses with different demographic and institutional characteristics: West Virginia University (WVU), the University of Denver (DU), and Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver).

  • Develop New Strategies

    Develop, pilot, and transfer new strategies to extend the first-year activities into the second and third years of engineering and computer science programs to provide for more sustained engagement with the issues of diversity and inclusion, particularly in the context of the technical courses which dominate these years of the curricula.

  • Longitudinal Assessments

    Conduct longitudinal assessments, both short term (of students in courses with project-introduced activities) and long term (of students as they progress through their curricuolar programs), of the impact of the integrated diversity and inclusion content on students and the learning environment to better understand the potential for long term impact.

Things to Think About

A “Computer Science” profession?

Is there a single term that applies to graduates in computer science who pursue professional careers in the field?

While adapting survey instruments from engineering to computer science, we observed a lack of a unified name that encompassed the professional roles of computer science graduates. Whereas engineering graduates who continue in their fields are generically referred to as “engineers”, there appeared to be be no consensus on an equivalent term for computer science graduates. In particular, they are not commonly referred to as “computer scientists”.

In informal conversations, students enrolled in the computer science (CS) degree program at MSU Denver did not think of CS graduates as “computer scientists” nor was “Computer Scientist” among the named careers they intended to pursue. (The most consistent interpretation of the term “computer scientist” was an academic researcher in computer science.)

Quotes without comment

The philosophy of jazz represents tolerance, teamwork, and inclusion.“
— Thelonius Monk
“In simple terms, diversity is the mix and inclusion is getting the mix to work well together.”
— Global Diversity Practice Ltd
“The difference between diversity and inclusion is being invited to a house and being able to rearrange the furniture.”
— Jane Silber, Executive Chair of Diffblue