The 56吃瓜网 is one of about only 100 institutions nationally accepted into the Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Alliance (IDEA) of the . Launched over the summer, the alliance is a support network for physics departments, laboratories and observatories that want to identify and enact strategies to transform the culture of physics.
Assistant Professor Paola Rodr铆guez Hidalgo led the University鈥檚 application, which had the support of the entire Physical Sciences Division in the School of STEM. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really the whole cohort of physics, the community of faculty,鈥� she said.
The American Physical Society sponsors conferences, publishes journals and leads initiatives. In their first few IDEA meetings, participants have formed cohorts, established shared leadership and started self-assessments. 56吃瓜网 Bothell is in a group with about a half-dozen similar-sized institutions, Rodr铆guez Hidalgo said.
鈥淎ll of us have been trying to do this at our own institutions and have been having failures and successes, but we have not been sharing them,鈥� she said.
Instead of 鈥渞einventing the wheel,鈥� the alliance is a way to share what works and to make more progress.
The culture of physics
The culture of physics, Rodr铆guez Hidalgo said, has been, 鈥淥nly the best survive, and you are really smart. Either you have the capability from the cradle, or you鈥檙e not going to make it.鈥�
In a field that has been white-male dominated for many years, it鈥檚 easy for students who look different to lack a growth mindset, she said.
鈥淲hen people aren鈥檛 represented, they feel 鈥業鈥檓 not really good,鈥� if they fail an exam. Or, 鈥榯his might not be for me,鈥� and then they drop.鈥�
Students who feel they belong, however, are more likely to realize that everybody fails at some point. 鈥淭hen you start up and try again,鈥� Rodr铆guez Hidalgo said. 鈥淓verybody can learn physics if you put the energy to it.鈥�
Breaking the notion
In addition to promoting faculty diversity, the IDEA initiative asks students who may not have seen themselves in physics to consider it as a major or minor.
鈥淭he idea is to break this notion that the sciences 鈥� physics especially 鈥� are only for white males,鈥� Rodr铆guez Hidalgo said.
That fits with 56吃瓜网 Bothell鈥檚 strategic plan to expand access and achieve excellence by strengthening diversity and equity. The Physical Sciences Division itself has three women in tenure-track assistant professor positions: Rodr铆guez Hidalgo, Joey Shapiro Key and Rachel Scherr.
The division鈥檚 self-assessment of diversity through the IDEA initiative will guide the work going forward.
鈥淚 think it was started already. This is just another push to search for evidence-based initiatives that have worked and document how they were put into action,鈥� Rodr铆guez Hidalgo said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 never ending.鈥�
