e-Newsletter: May 2005
Level Playing Field Institute’s First e-Newsletter!
As a friend or supporter of the Institute, we thought that you would be interested in reading about our activities and updates. Also, we promise not to flood your inbox--our e-newsletter appears once every two months. Enjoy!
UC Berkeley’s Chancellor to Host First IDEAL Graduates
UC Berkeley's newly inaugurated chancellor, Robert Birgeneau, is hosting a reception at his campus home for the Initiative for Diversity in Education and Leadership (IDEAL) Scholars on May 20. The reception will honor IDEAL's first graduating seniors, Alexandrea Creer, Ijeoma Okeigwe, and Corrine Van Hook, who were among the original class of students selected at IDEAL's inception in 2001. Chancellor Birgeneau has made racial diversity a high priority and has been an avid supporter of IDEAL. This reception is the first of many opportunities Level Playing Field Institute has to work closely with him to expand our undergraduate programs and further his initiatives on campus. Help IDEAL build and support a strong community of students of color at UC Berkeley now.
IDEAL invests in high-caliber, underrepresented students by providing resources and support to maximize their educational experiences and leadership opportunities during college and beyond.
Learn more about IDEAL Scholars here.
The Hearst Foundation Grants $75,000 to SMASH Academy
The Hearst Foundation awarded a $75,000 grant to fund Level Playing Field Institute’s Summer Math And Science Honors Academy (SMASH). With another 24 students chosen from over 150 applications from all around the Bay Area, the program, now in its second year, will serve 48 aspiring high school students this summer (July 5-August 12, 2005).
Located on the UC Berkeley campus, SMASH is a three-year summer residential program providing high school students from underrepresented communities with the opportunity to explore and develop their interests in math and science. The ultimate goal of the Academy is to increase the number of students pursuing college studies and careers in math and sciences.
Learn more about the SMASH Academy here.
Presenting "Hidden Barriers" at Social Venture Network Meeting
Level Playing Field Institute’s Workplace Programs team addressed the April 30th annual members’ meeting of the Social Venture Network in Tarrytown, NY. The team used interactive exercises and a multimedia presentation with stories and data to engage the 100+ audience of CEOs and founders on "hidden barriers" to fairness in the workplace. Hidden barriers, as the presenters described, are the seemingly small, trivial, and/or isolated behaviors whose cumulative effect confers advantages to some in the workplace, while disadvantaging others.
This presentation was part of a larger Level Playing Field Institute-sponsored campaign to raise the awareness of individuals and companies about the hidden barriers that exist in workplaces. For more information, please visit our website at www.hiddenbarriers.org. Social Venture Network (www.svn.org) is a non-profit network of entrepreneurs and investors which promotes new models and leadership for socially responsible and environmentally sustainable business.
Women and People of Color in Scientific Fields
For women and people of color, the path to a career in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) is often a difficult one. Much attention is being paid to this problem; however, progress is slow. Level Playing Field Institute recently surveyed programs designed to increase the number of women and people of color in STEM fields and reviewed current research on various programmatic models. In comparing programs and research findings, they highlighted trends, gaps between funding and research-determined need, and emergent questions. The findings are contained in the report: Increasing the Representation of Women and People of Color in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM): Scan and Synopsis of Approaches and Opportunities.
The barriers for women and people of color in STEM fields are multiple, complex, and interlinked. Apart from the ongoing shortage of financial support, the report highlights other needs as well: to emphasize and integrate interventions around teaching and curricula (especially in K-12 education), to have more role models and mentors, and to change the “weed-out” culture of STEM-related education. Two major gaps between research-determined needs and existing interventions were also highlighted: the rigidity of STEM workplace culture and the lack of work/life balance for women and parents. The report also calls into question the common practice of blaming women and people of color for their own underrepresentation in STEM fields, asking to what degree it would be more accurate to say that STEM disciplines are failing them.