Speaker: Erika Marín-Spiotta
Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Title: An Equity-Minded Approach to Graduate Education: The Wisconsin Sloan Center for Systemic Change
Abstract: The Wisconsin Sloan Center for Systemic Change, or WiSC2, is a hub for innovating and leading transformative work for excellence in graduate education at UW. Supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the aim of Systemic Change centers is to remove entrenched barriers to student success, improve student outcomes, and create educational environments that are more equitable and effective for all. Research at UW–Madison and elsewhere has shown that student success is influenced by students’ academic preparation and self-efficacy and their sense of community and their feelings of belonging. This is especially true for students from backgrounds historically excluded from higher education and from science.
Dr. Erika Marín-Spiotta (she/her) is Professor of Geography at UW-Madison where she leads the Biogeochemistry and Biogeography Lab which studies terrestrial ecosystem response to disturbance and strategies to advance equity in science. She is Director of the Wisconsin Inclusion in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute, Faculty Director of the Community of Graduate Research Scholars fellowship program, and co-Director of the new Wisconsin Sloan Center for Systemic Change in graduate education. She is a recipient of a Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering and is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Ecological Society of America. Marín-Spiotta is the lead PI of the ADVANCEGeo Partnership and part of the Mellon Foundation-funded Humanities Education for Anti-Racism Literacy in the Sciences team.
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