The IDEA Institute concluded the 2023 - 3024 academic year by hosting its 2024 IDEA Conference and the Spring 2024 Dean's Distinguished Diversity Lecture Series. The 2024 IDEA Conference, held on Monday, April 22, 2024, was a wonderful celebration of the many accomplishments IDEA Institute. Dean Bashir opened the conference with encouraging words to the audience in support of DEI initiatives. Awardees of the GIANT Student Diversity Leadership Awards, who are comprised of former and current students of undergraduate and graduate student-led GIANT teams, were recognized for their significant contributions towards the advancement of DEI in the Grainger College of Engineering. Lastly, eleven GIANT project teams presented lightning talks to provide an overview of the posters that were presented during the poster session which concluded the conference.
On Thursday, April 25, 2024, Dr. Shirley Malcom, Senior Advisor and Director of STEMM Equity Achievement (SEA) Change at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), was welcomed to campus as the Grainger College of Engineering Dean's Distinguished Diversity Lecture speaker Her seminar, "Changing the Narrative: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is Essential to Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine," challenged us to continue to embrace diversity and push forward in addressing the disparities of representation of students from all backgrounds in our STEM programs. A number of university and college administrators also had the esteemed opportunity to meet with Drs. Malcom and Dr. Valeria Sinclair-Chapman, Deputy Director of the AAAS SEA Change. The recording of the seminar may be viewed here.