Disrupting Ableism and
Advancing STEM
Promoting the Success of People with
Disabilities in the STEM Workforce
_____
Taylor Kate Brown and
Melissa E. Wynn, Rapporteurs
Kerry Brenner and
Maria Lund Dahlberg, Editors
Board on Higher Education
and Workforce
Policy and Global Affairs
Board on Science Education
Division of Behavioral and
Social Sciences and Education
Proceedings of a Workshop Series
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This activity was supported by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-71038-1
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-71038-3
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Disrupting Ableism and Advancing STEM: Promoting the Success of People with Disabilities in the STEM Workforce: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27245.
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BEYOND COMPLIANCE: PROMOTING THE SUCCESS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE STEM WORKFORCE
BONNIELIN (BONNIE) SWENOR (Chair), Director, Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center and Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Wilmer Eye Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
EMILY ACKERMAN, Postdoctoral Researcher, Lahav Lab, Harvard Medical School
DAVE CAUDEL, Associate Director, Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, Vanderbilt University
MICHELE COOKE, Professor of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst
LOGAN GIN, Assistant Director, STEM Education, Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University
ANDREW J. (ANDY) IMPARATO, Executive Director, Disability Rights California (DRC)
ANITA STONE MARSHALL, Assistant Instructional Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Executive Director, The International Association for Geoscience Diversity, University of Florida
MONA MINKARA, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering and Affiliated Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University
JORDAN RODRIGUEZ, Civil Engineer in Training, Stantec
RUPA S. VALDEZ, Associate Professor of Public Health Sciences and Engineering Systems and Environment, University of Virginia
Staff
MARIA LUND DAHLBERG, Director, Board on Higher Education and Workforce
KERRY BRENNER, Senior Program Officer, Board on Science Education
ANDREA DALAGAN, Senior Program Assistant, Board on Higher Education and Workforce
MELISSA E. WYNN, Program Officer, Board on Higher Education and Workforce
Consultants
SCOTT BELLMAN, Universal Design and Accessibility Consultant, University of Washington, DO-IT
BRIANNA BLASER, Universal Design and Accessibility Consultant, University of Washington, DO-IT
TERRILL THOMPSON, Universal Design and Accessibility Consultant, University of Washington, DO-IT
TAYLOR KATE BROWN, Consultant Writer
JOAN PASLEY, Evaluation Consultant, Horizon Research, Inc.
BREAN PREFONTAINE, Evaluation Consultant, Horizon Research, Inc.
BOARD ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE
LAMONT R. TERRELL (Co-Chair), Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lead, GSK
MARIELENA DeSANCTIS (Co-Chair), President, Community College of Denver
RAJEEV DAROLIA, Wendell H. Ford Professor of Public Policy and Economics, University of Kentucky
JOAN FERRINI-MUNDY, President, University of Maine and University of Maine at Machias; Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, University of Maine System
MATTHEW HORA, Associate Professor of Adult and Higher Education and Founding Director, Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions (CCWT), University of Wisconsin–Madison
BRANDY HUDERSON, Associate Professor of Biology, University of the District of Columbia; DEI Consultant and Data Analyst, Avent Diversity Consulting
TASHA R. INNISS, Associate Provost for Research, Office of Research, Innovation, and Collaboration, Spelman College
TRACIE LATTIMORE, Health Readiness Policy & Oversight, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs)
HIRONAO OKAHANA, Assistant Vice President and Executive Director, Education Futures Lab, American Council on Education
JOERG C. SCHLATTERER, Director, ACS Office of Research Grants, American Chemical Society
KATE E. STOLL, Project Director, Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues, American Association for the Advancement of Science
MEGHNA TARE, Chief Sustainability Officer, University of Texas at Arlington
ZAKIYA WILSON-KENNEDY, Ron and Dr. Mary Neal Distinguished Associate Professor of Chemistry Education and Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, College of Science, Louisiana State University
JOSH WYNER, Executive Director, Aspen Institute College Excellence Program; Vice President, Aspen Institute
Staff
MARIA LUND DAHLBERG, Director
ANDREA DALAGAN, Senior Program Assistant
ANDRÉ N. PORTER, Senior Program Officer
KARLA RILEY, Senior Program Assistant
JOHN VERAS, Associate Program Officer
MELISSA E. WYNN, Program Officer
BOARD ON SCIENCE EDUCATION
SUSAN R. SINGER (Chair), President, St. Olaf College
SUE ALLEN, Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance
MEGAN BANG, Professor of Learning Sciences, Northwestern University
VICKI L. CHANDLER, Provost, Minerva Schools at Keck Graduate Institute
MAYA M. GARCIA, Chief Program Officer, Beyond100K
DAVID GOLDSTON, Director, MIT Washington Office
G. PETER LEPAGE, Andrew H. and James S. Tisch Distinguished University Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Cornell University
WILLIAM PENUEL, School of Education, University of Colorado Boulder
STEPHEN L. PRUITT, President, Southern Regional Education Board
K. RENAE PULLEN, K–6 Science Curriculum Instructional Specialist, Caddo Parish Schools, Shreveport, Louisiana
K. ANN RENNINGER, Dorwin P. Cartwright Professor in Social Theory and Social Action, Swarthmore College
FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ, Chancellor, Los Angeles Community College District
MARCY H. TOWNS, Bodner-Honig Professor of Chemistry, Purdue University
DARRYL N. WILLIAMS, Senior Vice President, Science and Education, The Franklin Institute
Staff
HEIDI SCHWEINGRUBER, Director
AMY STEPHENS, Associate Director
KERRY BRENNER, Senior Program Officer
KENNE DIBNER, Senior Program Officer
JANET GAO, Program Officer
LETICIA GARCILAZO GREEN, Research Associate
MARGARET KELLY, Program Coordinator
LUCY OLIVEROS, Senior Program Assistant
HOLLY RHODES, Senior Program Officer
LAUREN RYAN, Senior Program Assistant
BRITTANI SHORTER, Senior Program Assistant
TIFFANY E. TAYLOR, Program Officer
AUDREY WEBB, Program Officer
Reviewers
This Proceedings of a Workshop Series was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings:
MARIA COPPOLA, University of Connecticut
LOGAN GIN, Brown University
TODD PAGANO, Rochester Institute of Technology
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by Marilyn Baker, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteurs and the National Academies.
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Contents
Background and Motivation for the Workshop Series
Organization of the Workshop Series and Proceedings
2 TOWARD DISRUPTING ABLEISM AND ADVANCING STEM
The Intersections of Disability, Equity, and STEM
3 CENTERING DISABILITY AND IDENTIFYING EQUITY
Describing Disability and Ableism
Disability-Friendly Spaces in Higher Education and Universal Design for Learning
Key Additions from Reflections Panel
5 LIVED EXPERIENCES OF DISABLED STEM STUDENTS
What Makes an Inclusive Educational Space
6 FOSTERING EFFECTIVE MENTORSHIP IN THE STEM ECOSYSTEM
The Role of Mentorship in STEM
Mentorship Pairs Share Their Experiences
Mutual Mentorship in the Disabled STEM Community
7 UNDERSTANDING WORKFORCE BARRIERS AND REIMAGINING ACCESS
8 CREATING DISABILITY-INCLUSIVE WORKFORCES AND WORKSPACES
The Complexities of Workplace Ecosystems
Career Advancement and Professional Development
Ideas for Action Across All Workshop Days
U.S. National Science Foundation Reflections and Solicitation
Acronyms and Abbreviations
AAAS | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
ADA | Americans with Disabilities Act |
ADD | attention-deficit disorder |
ADEA | Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 |
ADHD | attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder |
AGU | American Geophysical Union |
AI | artificial intelligence |
AIM | Apprenticeship Inclusion Models |
APS | American Physical Society |
ARIA | Accessibility, Research and International Affairs |
ASCE | American Society of Civil Engineers |
ASL | American Sign Language |
AUCD | Association of University Centers on Disabilities |
CAIR | Center for Accessibility and Inclusion Research |
CART | Communication Access Real-Time Translation |
CDID | Center for Discovery, Innovation, and Development |
CIMER | Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research |
CNIB | Canadian National Institute for the Blind |
COMBINE | Computational Modeling for BioInterface Engineering |
DEI | diversity, equity, and inclusion |
DEIA | diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility |
DOD | U.S. Department of Defense |
DO-IT | Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology |
DOL | U.S. Department of Labor |
DPI | Disabled Peoples’ International |
DRP | disability resource provider |
EAC | Empower Ability Consulting, Inc. |
EARN | Employer Assistance and Resource Network |
EDU | Directorate for STEM Education (NSF) |
EEOC | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission |
EES | Division for Equity of Excellence in STEM (NSF) |
EGO | European Gravitational Observatory |
GSS | Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering |
HMS | Harvard Medical School |
HR | human resources |
IEP | Individualized Education Program |
IPEDS | Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System |
ISEED | Inclusive STEMM Ecosystems for Equity and Diversity |
LGBTQIA+ | lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, ally/asexual, and other sexual and gender identities |
LHON | Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy |
LU-RRTC | Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Research and Capacity Building for Minority Entities at Langston University |
MSU | Michigan State University |
NAS | National Academy of Sciences |
NDMC | National Disability Mentoring Coalition |
NHGRI | National Human Genome Research Institute |
NICHD | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development |
NIDILRR | National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research |
NIH | National Institutes of Health |
NSF | U.S. National Science Foundation |
ODEP | Office of Disability Employment Policy |
OSU | Ohio State University |
PDM | Process Driven Math |
RIT | Rochester Institute of Technology |
RRTC | Rehabilitation Research and Training Center |
SDS | Student Disability Services |
STAMP | Science, Technology, Accessibility, Mathematics, and Public Health |
STEM | science, technology, engineering, and mathematics |
STEMM | science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine |
TPI | The Precisionists, Inc. |
UC | University of California |
UDL | universal design for learning |
UMass | University of Massachusetts |
USU | Utah State University |
VA | U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs |
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