Faculty recognized for diversity, inclusion efforts

Northwestern University professors Marcelo Worsley and Galen Bodenhausen will receive the 2019 Daniel Linzer Award for Faculty Excellence in Diversity and Equity. The professors will be recognized at a ceremony April 29, and each will be awarded $5,000 for their commitment to diversity in their fields.

An additional $172,348 has been awarded to 12 projects through the Daniel I. Linzer Grants for Innovation in Diversity and Equity. The funding will be used to develop conferences, conduct research and build relationships to foster diversity and inclusion in fields including science, history, medicine and engineering.

The Linzer Awards and Grants aim to build a more diverse, inclusive and equitable climate on campus and enhance diversity across the spectrum, including race, gender, religion, socioeconomic status, age and political affiliation.

2019 recipients of the Daniel I. Linzer Awards for Faculty Excellence in Diversity and Equity

Marcelo Worsley, Learning Sciences, School of Education and Social Policy; and Computer Science, McCormick School of Engineering

Worsley was selected for his innovative teaching and Technological Innovations for Inclusive Learning and Teaching (TIILT) Lab and his leadership in designing learning approaches and environments that include all, regardless of physical ability, in STEM technology.

He also has demonstrated significant outreach efforts to increase access and interest in STEM within the Evanston community.

“I’m very honored to be receiving this recognition and I’m even more honored to be a part of a community that actively promotes equity, diversity and inclusion across research, teaching and service endeavors,” Worsley said. “Without question, my work would not be possible without the support of Dean Ottino, Dean Figlio, my faculty colleagues, various community partners and the unwavering commitment of my students.”

Galen Bodenhausen, Psychology, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences

Bodenhausen was selected for his broad and sustained leadership in increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in the psychology department.

One of Bodenhausen’s most significant contributions to the department has been the Sneak Peek program, which he founded. The program brings undergraduate students from underrepresented groups to Northwestern to learn about graduate education in psychology. Students who attend the program have the opportunity to meet with current graduate students, talk to faculty about their fields and explore Evanston and Chicago.

He is also the co-founder of the Center for Science Diversity and founder of a program to distribute a common reading and subsequent discussion within the department on economic inequality.

“The psychology department has made major strides toward increasing diversity and inclusiveness and building substantial expertise and programming in the scientific study of diverse populations and identities,” Bodenhausen said. “It has been a pleasure working toward these developments in a department where their importance is widely understood and a consensually shared priority." 

2019 recipients of the Daniel I. Linzer Grants for Faculty Innovation in Diversity and Equity

Indigenous Tour of Northwestern

• Patricia Loew, Medill, Journalism
• Kelly Wisecup, Weinberg, English
• Stephan Moore, School of Communications, Radio/Television/Film

Funds will be used to create an Indigenous Tour of Northwestern as part of a course in media history. Both virtual tours and augmented reality tours will be created using these funds. The funds also will support the development of lesson plans for the tour to be used in local public schools and for visitors to campus and within Northwestern classes.

Chicago Women in STEM Initiative

• Yarrow Axford, Weinberg, Earth and Planetary Sciences
• Colleen Zaccard, Feinberg School of Medicine, Physiology
• Nancy Schwartz, University of Chicago, Pediatrics

Funds will be used to host an International Women’s Day day-long conference for Chicago Women in STEM to raise community awareness of implicit bias and teach tools for combatting bias. Funds also will support the establishment of STEM Circuits, a yearlong peer-mentoring circle program aimed primarily at women graduate students and postdocs in STEM fields. 

Online Seminar Series for SGM Health Research Methods and Topics

• Francesca Gaiba, Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing
• Kathryn Macapagal, Feinberg, Medical Social Sciences

Funds will be used to develop a publicly available, comprehensive, online seminar series about Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) health research, including SGM topics, populations and methodologies, based on the training that ISGMH currently provides to researchers at Northwestern.

Equity for the Research Enterprise: A collaboration to explore race and equity issues in community-academic research partnerships 

• Rebecca Johnson, Feinberg, Medical Social Sciences
• Jen Brown, Feinberg, Preventive Medicine
• Prakash Jayabalan, Feinberg, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Ahmed Chaudhry, Puerto Rican Cultural Center
  

Funds will be used to employ an expert for training in race, diversity, equity, bias and social justice for the faculty and community partners of the Alliance for Research in Chicagoland Communities (ARCC). 

Building Effective Mentoring Programs to Promote Diversity and Equity in STEM Fields

• Zerega Nyree, Weinberg, Program in Biological Sciences
• Jeremie Fant, The Graduate School, Plant Biology and Conservation
• Norman Wickett, The Graduate School, Plant Biology and Conservation
• Andrea Kramer, Weinberg, Program in Biological Sciences

Funds will be used to develop an 18-month program to improve near-peer mentoring experiences to support an increasingly diverse student body, including training graduate students and faculty who mentor undergraduates in the plant biology and conservation summer internship program.

Examining and Reducing Gender Bias in Negotiations

• Cynthia Wang, Kellogg School of Management, Management and Organizations
• Hooria Jazaieri, Kellogg, Management and Organizations

Funds will be used to develop a written exercise on gender bias in negotiations and teaching materials for faculty teaching the topic which will be used in Northwestern courses. In addition, data analysis of the exercise will enable the researchers to publish a paper on the project to encourage its usage at universities around the nation.

Careers in Allied Health Professions Bootcamp

• Margaret Danilovich, Feinberg, Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences
• Bill Healey, Feinberg, Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences
• Roberto Lopez-Rosado, Feinberg, Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences
• Michael Cavanaugh, Feinberg, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Stacy Kaplan, School of Communication, Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Kristine Riley, School of Communication, Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Catherine Wicklund, Feinberg, Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Debra Duquette, Feinberg, Medicine

Funds will be used to develop a weeklong summer bootcamp about careers in allied health professions for undergraduate students from underrepresented groups from Northwestern and other universities. This experience will prepare students for the graduate admissions process, offer clinical exposure and create networking opportunities.

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Alternative Spring Break

• Constance Wright, Weinberg, Undergraduate Advising
• Virginia Bishop, Feinberg, Preventive Medicine
• Jose Ramon Fernandez-Pena, Health Professions Advising

Funds will be used to continue and enhance a five-day skill-building and advising program for Northwestern undergraduate students from underrepresented groups planning to attend medical school.

Northwestern Emerging Scholars Program 

• Rachael Norton, Weinberg, Mathematics
• Brett Frankel, Weinberg, Mathematics
• Clive Newstead, Weinberg, Mathematics

Funds will be used to create an active-learning community to promote retention in mathematics among women, students from underrepresented groups and first-generation students. This will be done through a series of seven meetings designed to engage the students in activities that expose them to ideas from upper level mathematics classes.

Program in Public Health’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative

• Virginia Bishop, Feinberg, Preventive Medicine
• Leah Neubauer, Feinberg, Preventive Medicine

Funds will be used for an initiative to infuse equity, diversity and inclusion into the Program in Public Health’s curriculum, through building a resource tool kit and developing curricular changes.

Racial Equality and Community Engaged Researcher Incubator

• Alvin Tillery, Weinberg, Political Science

Funds will be used to provide graduate and undergraduate students in social sciences training in conducting community-engaged research through a racial-equity framework through a yearlong program with community-based organizations.

Structured Teamwork for Learning Equity in First Year Engineering Design: A Novel Approach 

• Emma DeCosta, McCormick, Undergraduate Engineering
• Kathleen Carmichael, Weinberg, Cook Writing Program  
• Ordel Brown, McCormick, Undergraduate Engineering

Funds will be used to pilot a structured approach to teaching teamwork in McCormick’s required first year design course. Students will rotate through four roles on the team in order to address a trend of students from underrepresented groups being excluded from high-profile team roles.